Crude oil futures ended higher on Friday amid data showing a bigger than expected addition in U.S. jobs in the month of July. Data released by the Labor Department showed non-farm payroll employment in the U.S. spiked by 528,000 jobs in July after surging by an upwardly revised 398,000 jobs in June. Street had expected employment to climb by about 250,000 jobs compared to the addition of 372,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. A report from Baker Hughes showed the oil rig count dropped by seven this week to 598. Compared to the level a year ago, oil rigs are up by 211.
Benchmark crude oil futures for September delivery rose $0.47 or about 0.5 percent to settle at $89.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery added $0.80 or 0.9 percent to settle at $94.92 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.