Oil Futures Settle Sharply Lower On Demand Concerns

Published: 9/6/2024 3:13 PM ET | 

Oil prices fell to an 18-month low of Friday, weighed down persisting concerns about the outlook for oil demand.

Data showing a much less than expected increase in private sector as well as non-farm payroll growth in the U.S. and the possibility of increased oil supply from Libya weighed on oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended down by $1.48 or about 2.1% at $67.67 a barrel, the lowest settlement since March 2023. WTI crude futures shed about 8% in the week.

Brent crude futures ended lower by $1.63 or about 2.2% at $71.06 a barrel.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 142,000 jobs in August compared to economist estimates for an increase of 160,000 jobs.

The report also said the increases in employment in June in July were downwardly revised to 118,000 jobs and 89,000 jobs, respectively, reflecting a net downward revision of 86,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2% in August from 4.3% in July.