WTI drops over $2 on unemployment numbers

A new report from the US Labor Department that showed the US unemployment rate grew to 10.2 percent last month send crude oil prices lower on Friday.

With unemployment at its highest in over 26 years, there are concerns that demand for gasoline and other oil products will remain weak.

December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude fell $2.19 to $77.43 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while December Brent crude dropped $2.63 to $75.36 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Prices dropped even though there are forecasts that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico could be disrupted by storms this weekend.

Nymex December gasoline futures were 6 cents lower to $1.92 per gallon while December heating oil was down 5 cents to $2 per gallon and December natural gas dropped 19 cents to $4.60 per million British thermal units.

The retail price of a gallon of gas in the United States dropped again overnight, falling less than a cent to $2.679 per gallon on average.