Reply #2: Oil sinks below $96 ahead of US jobs report

[Pale Blue Dot]

SINGAPORE – Oil prices sank below $96 a barrel Friday in Asia, extending a sharp drop from the previous session amid investor concern a weak U.S. jobs market may undermine demand for crude.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was down $3.86 at $95.94 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for June delivery was down $3.79 to $107.01 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The contract plunged $9.44 to settle at $99.80 on Thursday — the biggest one-day percentage decline since April, 2009 — because of signs U.S. economic growth is slowing. The Labor Department said that first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose to 474,000 last week, the highest level in eight months.

Investors will be closely watching the government's non-farm payroll numbers scheduled to be released later Friday. Economists forecast that employers added 185,000 workers in April and the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.8 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

Funny thing - the prices at my favorite gas station actually went up a penny overnight.