NEW YORK, May 3 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices jumped to more than $95 per barrel Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange in reaction to the falling U.S. unemployment rate.
The U.S. Labor Department said 165,000 jobs were added to the economy in April and the jobless rate dropped from 7.6 percent to 7.5 percent, the lowest level in five years.
The figures beat expectations and West Texas Intermediate crude oil added $3.96 to $95.44 per barrel, a relatively large jump.
Gasoline prices added 10.16 cents to $2.8188 a gallon. Home heating oil gained 7.46 cents to $2.8793 a gallon. Natural gas shed 29.8 cents to $4.051 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.522 Friday, down from Thursday's $3.525, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report said.
