Oil prices advance on strong US jobs report

Oil prices rose Friday after U.S. reported higher-than-expected non-farm payrolls in June. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 195,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6 percent, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. The fresh figures far exceeded economists' estimates of creating 165,000 jobs, but the jobless rate fell slightly short of the 7.5-percent forecast. The flat unemployment rate reflected higher work-force participation rate, which stood at 63.5 percent in June compared to 63.4 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis. The year's largest decline in U.S. stockpiles also underpinned the oil prices. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday crude supplies fell significantly last week. U.S. crude inventories shrank 10.3 million barrels to 383.8 million barrels for the week ended June 28. Analysts expected a drop of 3 million barrels. Traders are watching closely the situation in Egypt. The Suez Canal and several pipelines made the country an important transit route for oil. The concerns about protests in Egypt and the possible impact on oil supplies lifted up the oil prices. Jeffrey Currie, an analyst of Goldman Sachs, maintained his three-month forecast for Brent at 105 dollars a barrel in a report, saying there hasn't been a supply disruption reported in Egypt. Light, sweet crude for August delivery climbed 1.98 dollars, to settle at 103.22 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for August delivery went up 1.96 dollar, to close at 107. 72 dollars a barrel.