WTI oil futures close off the week’s trading session above $101 a barrel as the American oil contract was boosted further on Friday after the latest jobs data out of the US saw a sharp drop in America’s unemployment rate.<\/p>\n
WTI Oil Futures \u2013 Closing Price<\/strong><\/p>\n US Light crude oil futures for January 2012 delivery ended the week\u2019s trading session at $101.04 a barrel on the NYMEX, trading 1 percent higher at close yesterday, which was the highest settlement price for NYMEX WTI since 16th November.<\/p>\n US WTI oil futures finished last week\u2019s session (Friday 26th November) at $97.29 a barrel.<\/p>\n US Jobs Data<\/strong><\/p>\n The US Labour Department reported on Friday that the jobless rate in America fell to 8.6 percent in November from 9 percent the month before, which is a 32 month low.<\/p>\n “Oil prices rallied on the job report this morning which showed some job creation. We were creating jobs and that’s good news.” said Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.<\/p>\n “Official US unemployment data, as always, is shaking up general markets like a snow globe. Crude prices immediately rallied on the release, but have since pared these gains, and even a little more.” said Matt Smith, an analyst with Summit Energy, in a note to clients.<\/p>\n Also supporting higher oil prices was the US Senate’s unanimous vote Thursday for harsh new sanctions on Iran, OPEC’s second largest oil producer, adding to tensions between the West and Tehran over its nuclear program.<\/p>\n