Robert Parker of Credit Suisse Asset Management sees another one or two moves by the US Federal Reserve this year
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery fell 17 cents to USD 46.58 while Brent crude for October eased 16 cents to USD 50.52 in late-morning trade.
US employers created 165,000 jobs in April, more than most analysts expected, and the unemployment rate slipped modestly to 7.5 percent, a four-year low, according to official data.
Mecklai graph of the day: US companies added more jobs in December than forecast ending 2012 on a higher note. The number of workers employed in the month rose by 155,000.
Global oil prices dipped today after minutes from the last policy meeting at the Federal Reserve sparked speculation of an unexpectedly early end to its quantitative easing stimulus.
Gold tracked equities higher on Tuesday, but was heading for its biggest monthly loss since May, after disappointing corporate earnings prompted investors to sell holdings to cover losses in other markets hurt by global economic uncertainty.
Thursday's announcements from the ECB and BOE, and bond auctions in Spain are expected to take center stage before Friday's US non-farm payrolls data. Hans Goetti, CIO of Finaport says the US payroll numbers are politically sensitive.
US employers decreased hiring for the second straight month in April but the unemployment rate still fell to 8.1%, giving mixed messages about the economy's strength.
Japanese stocks rallied on Thursday as investors snapped up shares of big exporters after the dollar hit two-week highs against the yen, but markets elsewhere in Asia were more subdued ahead of the influential US non-farm payrolls report.