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OIL: Oil prices slip as employment data spark profit taking

Oil prices slipped on Friday after a shockingly weak US employment report fanned worries about recession and demand in the world's biggest energy consumer.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, dropped US$1.27 to close at US$97.91 a barrel.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for February shed US$0.81 to settle at US$96.79.

A lackluster US jobs data triggered profit taking a day after oil prices briefly struck intraday record highs.

On Thursday, the benchmark New York contract hit US$100.09 and Brent touched US$98.50.

The US Labor Department reported the US economy gained 18,000 nonfarm jobs last month, the slowest job creation since 2003, as the unemployment rate rose to 5 percent, more than a two-year high.

The surprisingly weak report was a fresh warning flag of a slowing economy and prompted speculation that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates again, after a combined one percentage point reduction since September.

"There should be every reason to think that the poor jobs number will return the focus to the economic slowing theme," John Kilduff of MF Global said. "While the bull run in the energy markets may have a last gasp or two, the report will underscore the trouble on the economic front."

Despite the pullback on Friday, some analysts said oil prices remained well supported and could soon strike new all-time peaks.

Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov noted a "favorable" combination of declining inventories, a weak dollar, soaring oil demand from Asia and geopolitical risks had helped to propel crude prices to US$100.

"It seems that these factors will continue to dominate oil headlines in the foreseeable future. And even if we see a deeper correction in oil prices, in the longer term, the bullish trend is likely to prevail, as spare capacity on the supply side is very limited and demand is still growing," he said.
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