Brent Slips Below US$123 On Iran Talks, US jobs data

Brent crude slipped US$1 on Monday as Iran agreed to resume talks that had collapsed more than a year ago on the country’s nuclear programme with the US and its allies, raising hopes of a peaceful resolution to the standoff.

Prices were also under pressure on demand growth concerns after data showed U.S. employers hired far fewer workers in March than in previous months. Job growth in the world’s biggest oil consumer slowed to 120,000, the Labor Department said on Friday, the smallest increase since October.

Front-month Brent crude fell 94 cents a barrel to US$122.49 by 0251 GMT, after slipping to as low as US$122.17. US oil traded US$1.17 a barrel lower at US$102.14, after sliding to as low as US$101.87. Oil futures markets were closed on Friday.

“The talks are good news. They are going to ease some stress from the oil market, but not enough to bring oil below its current trading range,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives manager at Newedge Brokerage in Tokyo. “Oil is falling because the jobs data came out worser than expected.”

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Link: [ arabianbusiness ]