oil prices continued to rise on Friday after better-than-expected US labor market data reassured traders about the health of crude demand. Brent’s barrel North Sea freight for September delivery gained 2.26% to $107.02 in London. Meanwhile, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for August gained 2% to US $ 104.79 in New York.
The United States added many more jobs than expected in June and wages rose, according to official data released on Friday, good news for the labor market that, on the other hand, feeds fears of more inflation and -in the financial market- of increases in interest rates from the US central bank.
The United States created 372,000 new jobs in the month, much more than the 250,000 expected by analysts, reported the Department of Labor. “There is a correlation (between job creation) and continuing strong demand for gasoline,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital. People who have jobs use their vehicles more, and their wages give them purchasing power. Average hourly wages increased 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $32.08, and 5.1% in the last 12 months, according to the report.
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The New York Stock Exchange experienced a fluctuation of ups and downs to finally close with few variations compared to the previous close. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 were down 0.15% and 0.08%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.12%. In the week, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq they grew 1.94% and 4.56%, in that order, while the Dow lost 0.15%. Strong US employment data fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve will have no qualms about further interest rate hikes.
In Europe, most indices managed to close higher after a day of intense volatility. The regional Stoxx 600 rose 0.6% in the first half of the session and two hours later sank to 2.43%, before reversing the decline and closing 0.51% higher. With these results, the main indicator of the European stock market recorded a weekly increase of 2.45%.
On the other side of the world, Asian stocks were hit by the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead at a campaign rally. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index closed slightly 0.1% higher, while mainland China’s CSI 300 shrank 0.33%, reversing its strong early performance on expectations that the Chinese government would push through an economic stimulus plan. for $220 billion.
Source: AFP and Diario Financiero
