Oil prices settle sharply lower on demand concerns after weak US jobs data

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Investing.com-- Oil prices settled sharply lower Friday, succumbing to a fourth straight week of losses, as weak U.S. jobs data added to concerns that slowing economic growth will hit consumption as the year progresses.

At 14:30 ET (18:30 GMT), West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 2.8% to settle at $73.52 and Brent oil futures fell 3.2% to $77.01 a barrel.

Oil heads in 4th weekly loss as growth concerns mount

The release of nonfarm payrolls on Friday showed the economy created 114,000 new jobs last month, the lowest since January 2021, down from a revised 179,000 in June, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, above the 4.1% expected.

The data fueled concerns of a global economic slowdown that threatens oil demand amid recent worries about slowing growth for longer in China.

The demand concerns come as fears about increased non-OPEC supply returned to the spotlight.

U.S. crude output is expected to increase by 500,000 barrels per day in the current year, marking a step down in pace from 1 million barrels per day seen last year, but still account for 60% of non-OPEC production growth, Goldman Sachs estimated earlier this week.

U.S. oil rig counts, meanwhile, remained unchanged at 482, Baker Hughes reported Friday.

Middle East tensions take a back seat

Earlier this week, crude prices were swayed by concerns over an all-out war in the Middle East, but was overshadowed by concerns about slowing global growth.

Still, Middle East tensions will likely remain in focus amid fears about a wider war breaking out in the oil-rich Middle East region after Iran vowed to retaliate against Israel for allegedly assassinating Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

Earlier in the week, Israel said it had killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in an airstrike, drawing ire from the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed group.

The prospect of an all-out war between Israel and its surrounding states saw traders attach some risk premium to oil prices, on the prospect of potential supply disruptions in the Middle East.

"For now, the market continues to try to balance these supply risks with the negative sentiment driven by demand concerns," said analysts at ING, in a note. "Weaker Chinese demand has been on the radar for some time now and weaker-than-expected macro data from the US will only add to these demand concerns."

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)