Oil prices dipped on Friday as a disappointing service sector report and fading Hurricane Earl offset the better-than-expected jobs data, Xinhua reported.
The futures gained in early trading as the latest non-farm payroll report showed that U.S. economy lost 54,000 jobs in August, way better than the 110,000 losses economists had expected.
But crude erased gains and fell after the Institute for Supply Management said its service-sector index fell to 51.5 last month from 54.3 in July, signaling a slower growth.
Further pressured on the oil prices was the report that the Hurricane Earl has weakened, easing fears about disruption on refineries on the U.S. East Coast.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 42 cents to settle at 74.60 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude for October delivery fell 39 cents to 76.54 dollars a barrel on the International Futures Exchange in London.
Oil prices dip on weak service data, fading hurricane
