US oil prices rebound on upbeat jobs data

Oil prices gained Friday following better-than-expected US nonfarm payrolls report for October. The U.S. nonfarm payroll grew by 204,000 in October, and the unemployment rate edged up to 7.3 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. The fresh payroll number was much better than analysts' estimates. The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the third quarter before the partial federal government shutdown, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The figure is well above analysts' estimates of 2 percent and also higher than the 2.5- percent increase in the second quarter. Traders believed the jobs report is a good economic sign. Most signals are pointing to the U.S. economy improving and it's good for oil demand. Investors are weighing the upbeat U.S. economic data to try to figure out whether the U.S. economy is strong enough to let the Federal Reserve start to slow down the pace of its 85-billion- dollar asset purchases program. A new round of talks on the Iran nuclear issue started in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday. The talks involve Iran and the six countries of the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany. Brent crude rose more as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tempered expectations of a possible deal over Iran's nuclear program. Light, sweet crude for December delivery went up 40 cents to settle at 94.6 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery gained 1.66 dollars to close at 105.12 dollars a barrel.