Crude oil futures ended higher on Monday as outlook for the energy demand remains optimistic due to last week's fairly encouraging non-farm payrolls data. Data from the Labor Department on Friday showed the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April compared with 165,000 jobs in March. Economists had expected an addition of 180,000 jobs in April. The unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped to 3.4% from 3.5%. Economists had expected the rate to rise to 3.6%. China is likely to release the trade data on May 09. This will give an insight into the commodity imports by China during April.
Benchmark crude oil futures for June delivery rose $1.82 or about 2.6 percent to settle at $73.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for July delivery added $1.71 or about 2.3 percent to settle at $77.01 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.