SINGAPORE: Oil prices pushed higher Monday thanks to a softer dollar after last week’s well-below-forecast US jobs report, but the gains were limited as producers increased their rig count as the commodity held around the key $50 level.
The US labour department said Friday that just 38,000 new jobs were created last month, a quarter of what was expected and scything any chance of an interest rate hike any time soon.
With borrowing costs not seen to rise before September at the earliest, the dollar tumbled, making oil cheaper for anyone buying it with other currencies.
At about 0415 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 45 cents, or 0.93 percent, at $49.07, while Brent gained 35 cents, or 0.71 percent, to $49.99.
