NEW YORK: Oil prices closed mixed Friday, with the New York futures contract lifted by a weaker dollar after news that the US economy lost more jobs than expected last month.New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, rose nine cents to close at 82.75 dollars a barrel.
The benchmark contract had topped 83 dollars Wednesday for the first time in 14 months before snapping a 10-session winning streak Thursday.
London's Brent North Sea crude for February delivery fell 14 cents to settle at 81.37 dollars.
The world's biggest economy lost 85,000 jobs in December while the unemployment rate held unchanged at 10 percent, the US Labor Department said Friday in a report highlighting a slow and painful recovery from recession.
The report on nonfarm payrolls was a disappointment to those hoping for growth in jobs, which is critical to recovery from recession.
The figure was far worse than the consensus expectation for no change in overall employment levels and came amid a wide array of predictions ranging from steep losses to modest gains.
The unemployment rate meanwhile was in line with expectations, remaining near its highest level since the 1980s.
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