Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday, recovering well after recent losses, after data showed stronger than expected growth in U.S. non-farm payroll employment in the month of September.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended higher by $0.48 or about 0.6% at $82.79 a barrel, recovering from a low of $81.53 a barrel.
WTI crude futures shed about 9% in the week, the biggest weekly decline since March.
Brent crude futures settled at $$84.58 a barrel, gaining $0.54 or about 0.6%. Brent crude futures lost about 11% in the week.
Data from the Labor Department showed employment in the U.S. surged by much more than expected in the month of September. The data said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 336,000 jobs in September compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 170,000 jobs.
The report also showed notable upward revisions to job growth in the two previous months.
Meanwhile, Russia's government today said it had withdrawn a ban on diesel exports delivered to sea ports via pipelines, removing a large chunk of restrictions it put in place last month.
A report released by Baker Hughes showed that the total active drilling rigs in the US dropped by 4 this week. While oil rigs decreased by 5 for the second consecutive week, gas rigs saw an increase by 2.
