(AP) -- Oil priceshovered above $66 a barrel Friday in light holiday trading a day after grim unemploymentnumbers from the U.S. and Europe sent prices tumbling.
By mid-afternoonin Europe, benchmark crude for Augustdelivery was down 16 cents to $66.57 a barrel in electronic trading on the NewYork Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, it fell $2.58, nearly 4 percent, tosettle at $66.73.
Trading inthe U.S. is closed Friday for theIndependence Day holiday.
Oil cameoff an eight-month intraday high of $73.38 a barrel earlier this week ongrowing investor concerns that a doubling of the crude price since March isn'tjustified by a sluggish global economy.
"Renewedconcern over the global economy, reflected in lower equities, is the maindriver of weaker oil market sentiment," said Britain's KBC Market Services."However, in contrast to recent months, weak oil market fundamentals seemat last to be exerting some influence."
KBCmentioned rising oil inventories and U.S. gasoline stocks as evidence of weakdemand.
"Thereis no longer a shortfall, or support, in any key sector of the oilcomplex," KBC said.
Weak jobsfigures released Thursday suggested consumption will remain tepid and crudedemand may not pick up quickly.
A LaborDepartment report showed the U.S. economy lost a larger-than-expected467,000 jobs in June. The unemployment rate climbed to 9.5 percent, a 26-yearhigh.
Unemploymentin the 16 countries that use the euro spiked to a ten-year high in May, also at9.5 percent.
The dismaleconomic data undermined investor confidence and sent the Dow Jones industrialaverage down 2.6 percent Thursday. Most Asian and European stock indexes alsowere lower Friday.
In other Nymextrading, gasoline for August delivery was down 0.73 cent to $1.7835 a gallonand heating oil rose 0.44 cent to $1.7060. Natural gas for August delivery rose6.4 cents to $3.679 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent prices slid 27 cents to$66.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
