Oil prices rose on Friday, posting a third straight weekly rise as investors bet that a weaker-than-expected US jobs report bolstered the case for more monetary easing by the Federal Reserve that would keep pressure on the dollar.
The oil futures complex got further support as a strike at France's top oil port, now in its 12th day threatened to cut European oil products output. Also, a surprisingly sharp cut in the US government's corn crop forecast sent cash ethanol prices sharply higher. US nonfarm payrolls fell 95,000 in September, the US Labour Department said. Private sector jobs rose 64,000, less than the consensus forecast, after a 93,000 rise in August.
US crude for November delivery rose 99 cents, or 1.21 percent, to settle at $82.66 a barrel, having traded from $80.30 to $83.13. For the week, prices rose $1.08, or 1.32 percent. ICE Brent November crude rose 60 cents, or 0.72 percent, to settle at $84.03 a barrel. Brent was up 28 cents for the week, a seventh straight weekly rise.
"The negative unemployment report makes quantitative easing after the election a virtual certainty. This expectation has already affected the dollar's value and pushed energy prices higher," said John Kilduff of Again Capital LLC in New York.
"Another leg lower for the dollar is likely thereby creating more commodity inflation. It's not a demand issue with the employment backdrop; it's financial physics at work." The dollar slid to a 15-year low against the Japanese yen after the payrolls report reinforced the expectation of further asset purchases from the Fed.
Four oil refineries in southern France face closure this weekend, the country's oil lobby said on Friday, after workers at a key oil port voted to continue a strike for a 12th day. Enbridge Inc said it shut its 670,000 barrel-per-day Line 6A pipeline bringing crude from Canada to the United States after discovering a problem during maintenance early Friday.
The pipeline snag comes three weeks after Line 6A was restarted after being shut for more than a week after a leak. Earlier this week, the US Energy Information Administration data showed US crude stocks rose by a greater-than-expected 3.09 barrels last week, though refined fuel stocks fell.
Both crude and refined oil stocks remained above year-ago levels, according to the EIA. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna next week to consider production and market share policy with crude prices since May hemmed between the $64.24 intraday low on May 20, the weakest price since July 30, 2009, and the 2010 peak of $87.15 reached on May 3.
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