Crude oil slips after late recovery

3 September 2010

Written by Bob Burton

Crude oil prices were down on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (September 3rd), under pressure ahead of a key US unemployment report.

Both crude and heating oil staged a late recovery in trading yesterday after US jobs figures provided support for energy commodities, but oil futures are still set to register their third weekly decline in four weeks on subdued demand conditions.

Reuters reports that JP Morgan analysts led by Laurence Eagles said crude has also been supported by stronger-than-expected manufacturing data in the US.

"The economic data this week largely assuaged concerns that manufacturing is leading the world into a double-dip recession," he said.

Fears that Hurricane Earl would disrupt production in the Gulf of Mexico also supported prices, the analysts said.

At 03:00 Central Standard Time, crude for October delivery was trading at $74.85 a barrel, down 17 cents, while heating oil had made fractional losses at $2.0593 a gallon.