LONDON (Dow Jones)--Nymex crude oil futures Friday bounced off lows, retracing the over 4% drop in prices seen in early Asia trade as investors settled in to await U.S. employment data---a key indicator of the economic health of the world's largest oil consumer.
Crude futures are now expected to stabilize unchanged to slightly higher on the day as investors await the U.S. July nonfarm payroll report, due out at 1230 GMT, for signs of whether the world's largest economy is slipping into recession.
At 0945 GMT, the front-month September contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading down 32 cents, or 0.4, at $86.31 a barrel. The front-month September Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was up $1.30, or 1.1%, at $108.55 a barrel
Nymex oil crashed in early Asia trade to $82.87 a barrel, the lowest level seen since Nov. 26, 2010, as sentiment deteriorated further following the plunge in equities markets that started Thursday and dragged other asset classes like commodities lower.
The low seen today on Nymex oil is down over 13% since the close on Friday, July 29.
Traders said the funds that trade on the closing price of Nymex crude came in Friday morning and sold oil, exacerbating the move downwards.
The oil price fell as investors pulled out of risky assets such as commodities to raise cash to pay margin calls on stock markets.
"It's an equity-led dump and all the people who are losing money on equities get out of commodities to pay their margins," said Andy Riddell head of derivatives at London Capital Group.
Brent September crude fell 2.8% in early trade to a low of $104.30 a barrel.
At 0939 GMT, the ICE's gasoil contract for August delivery was down $15.50, or 1.7%, at $918.50 per metric ton, while Nymex gasoline for August delivery was up 300 points, or 1.1%, at $2.7672 per gallon.
-By Selina Williams, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9262; selina.williams@dowjones.com
www.online.wsj.com
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