Oil rises amid buoyant data from China capped by concerns about weak jobs growth in USA

06-Aug-13

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September, inched up to US$107.2, while Brent North Sea crude for September inched up to US$109.2. China's official non-manufacturing PMI was reported at 54.1 in July, from 53.9 in June. Bouyant economic data from China propped up the markets, but concerns about weak jobs growth in the United States limited gains. The Labor Department reported that the United States added 162,000 jobs in July, well below the 175,000 expected on average by analysts. Unemployment rate fell to 7.4% from 7.6% in June.