Crude oil prices surged close to 4 percent on Friday amidst hopes of a shift in China's Zero Covid strategy and other Covid curbs. Aiding the rally were fears of a ban by the E.U. on Russian oil. Both Brent and WTI traded significantly higher compared to the levels on Thursday backed by hopes of a major upturn in demand.
The rally is also amidst data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that showed a nonfarm payroll employment increase of 261 thousand versus expectations of 200 thousand. Unemployment rate increased to 3.7 percent versus expectation of 3.6 percent. The labor market's strength serves as a strong nod to the central bank to pursue the hawkish path it enumerated just two days earlier.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.