Crude Oil Plunged 7.7% This Week

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures were slightly higher Friday after an upbeat U.S. jobs reports soothed post-Briext fears.

Prices fell sharply for the week, however, amid lingering worries about the global economy.

August WTI oil was up 27 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $45.41/bbl. Prices were down 7.7 percent for the week, hitting a 2-month low at one point.

After reporting abysmal job growth in the previous month, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing a much bigger than expected increase in employment in the month of June.

The report said non-farm payroll employment surged up by 287,000 jobs in June versus economist estimates for an increase of about 180,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, Baker Hughes data showed the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for crude oil rose 10 to 351 as of Friday.

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