Oil prices mixed ahead of U.S. jobs report, more gains eyed | Reuters

Oil prices mixed ahead of U.S. jobs report, more gains eyed | Reuters

Oil prices were mixed on Friday after a strong rise in the previous session on a weaker dollar and a fall in U.S. crude stocks and were set for modest weekly gains ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. monthly jobs report.

Brent crude futures were up 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $73.16 a barrel at 0619 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 4 cents, or 0.1%, at $69.95 a barrel.

Both benchmark oil contracts jumped 2% on Thursday, putting WTI on track to climb 1.8% for the week, while Brent headed for a 0.6% weekly gain.

The move down in WTI was likely due to traders squaring positions ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for August, on worries the report may be weaker than consensus forecasts, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.