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Oil edges up as dollar slumps again, traders await US payrolls data Thomson
Financial Oil recovered yesterday's losses as the dollar turned lower against the euro, making dollar priced oil cheaper for holders of foreign currency, and as players positioned themselves ahead of this afternoon's key US payrolls report. The report is expected to show the US economy cut about 50,000 jobs in March. However markets are nervous the figure could be higher than this as data out yesterday showed jobless claims rose to their highest in three years last week. 'Should we get a larger-than-expected decline in payrolls, the dollar could weaken and energy prices could receive a boost in the process,' said MF Global (NYSE:MF) analyst Ed Meir. He added, however, that 'it is also possible that markets will interpret a sharp drop as a sign that we are well on our way into recession, in which case oil prices have more room to fall'. At 9:46 a.m., New York's West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up 74 cents at $104.56 a barrel. Brent crude for May delivery was up 69 cents at $103.21 a barrel. Oil markets players are struggling of late to reconcile opposing market forces. On the one hand the weak dollar is continuing to underpin oil, while on the other hand fears over the demand outlook are growing. This is as data releases from the US continue to indicate the world's largest oil consumer is teetering on the brink of recession, meaning it might buy less oil going forward.
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