At 13:30 GMT, the US economy released Non-Farm employment change reading for February, which showed the addition of 379,000 jobs, better than forecasts of adding 197,000 new jobs, and better than the previous reading of adding 166,000 after it was revised from 49,000. This data is positive for the US dollar.
At 13:30 GMT, the US economy released the average hourly earnings reading for February, which rose by 0.2%, on par with forecasts and better than the previous reading of 0.1% after it was revised from 0.2%. This data is positive for the US economy.
At 13:30 GMT, the US economy released the unemployment rate for February at 6.2%, the lowest rate since March 2020, better than forecasts and the previous reading of 6.3%. This data is positive for the US economy.
Oil prices continued to rise as the US market opened on Friday, to extend their gains for the third straight day and hit a 14-month high, buoyed by the OPEC-Plus decision to extend the current output cuts until April, and Saudi Arabia’s decision to maintain its voluntary cut.
US crude 2.2% to the highest level since January 2020 at $65.54, after opening at $64.12, and hit a day low of $63.84, and Brent crude rose 2.5% to the highest since January 2020 at $68.64, after opening at $67.00, and hit a day low at $66.69.
US crude rose 4.9% yesterday, and Brent crude futures rose 4.8%, in the largest daily gain since February 22.
OPEC and independent producers to keep the current oil production levels without any change until the end of April.
During the OPEC Plus meeting on December 3, the members agreed to abandon a planned increase in production of about 2 million barrels per day, while agreeing to increase supplies by only 500 thousand barrels per day as of January.
Saudi Arabia also announced a voluntary output cut of about one million barrels per day during February and March to balance the market, but Riyadh's decision about the supply levels during April remains unclear.