Crude oil futures ended sharply lower on Friday with the commodity staging a turnaround from earlier gains after a better-than-expected report on U.S. employment helped to deliver a fillip to the U.S. dollar, weighing on assets priced in the currency. Headwind in the crude oil prices came amid concerns about the outlook for global demand amid a surge in coronavirus infections overshadowed upbeat U.S. jobs data. In the United States, daily new COVID-19 cases have climbed to a six-month high, with more than 100,000 infections reported nationwide. Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a report showing non-farm payroll employment spiked by 943,000 jobs in July after surging by an upwardly revised 938,000 jobs in June.
Crude oil futures for September lost 81 cents or 1.2 percent to settle $68.28 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude fell 59 cents or 0.8 percent to settle at $70.70 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.