NEW YORK, USA (AP) — Oil tumbled more than two per cent Friday, giving up most of its gains for the week after the latest government data showed hiring in the US is at a virtual standstill.

The Labour Department said that employers added the fewest jobs in nine months and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 per cent in June. A slowdown in hiring means that gasoline demand could remain stagnant as fewer workers join the daily commute and consumers limit driving and trips to the gas station as they watch their spending.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery gave up US$2.41, or 2.4 per cent, at US$96.26 per barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent crude lost 85 cents at US$117.74 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. WTI started the week around US$95 a barrel and rose as high as US$99.42 during trading on Thursday.

Gasoline futures also dropped following the jobs report. The contract for August delivery gave up four cents at US$3.0864 per gallon on the Nymex.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service, is sticking with his summer retail gasoline forecast for a national average between US$3.25 and US$3.75 per gallon (3.8 litres). He noted that oil is traded around the world, and demand is expected to expand despite sluggish jobs growth in the US While the US is the world’s largest petroleum consumer, demand growth will be driven by motorists, trucking companies and factories in China and India.

Sluggish US gasoline demand may delay Brent crude reaching US$125 per barrel next year, as forecast by Goldman Sachs. “But it’s not going to lead to any major selling” of oil contracts, Kloza said. Brent is used by many East Coast refineries to produce gasoline.

In other Nymex trading for August contracts, heating oil lost two cents to US$3.0813 per gallon and natural gas gained six cents to US$4.198 per 1,000 cubic feet.