(RTTNews) - Crude oil fell for the first time in four sessions on Thursday amid demand worries. Traders expressed caution ahead of tomorrow's big jobs report.
Light sweet crude oil for December delivery finished at $79.62 per barrel, down 78 cents on the session. Prices fell as low as $79.34, compared to a daily high of $80.62.
The Labor Department's big monthly jobs report is due at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday. A decline in non-farm payrolls of 175,000 is expected, compared to a drop of 263,000 a month earlier. The unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 9.9%.
On Thursday, the Labor Department report showed that jobless claims fell to 512,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 532,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 522,000 from the 530,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Traders also continued to react to the Federal Reserve's decision to leave its target for the federal funds rate at a range from zero and a quarter percent. The central bank also repeated its assessment that "exceptionally" low rates will continue for an "extended period."
The European Central Bank and the Bank of England left rates unchanged on Thursday morning.
Oil rose yesterday after Energy Information Administration data showed crude oil inventories decreased by 4.0 million barrels compared to the previous week. Experts had forecast an increase of 1.3 million barrels.
The EIA also reported that motor gasoline demand has averaged 9.0 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, unchanged from the same period last year. Distillate fuel demand has dropped 14.8 percent and jet fuel demand is 3.1 percent lower.
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