Oil rose in Asian trade today as investors returned to the market after a massive selloff triggered by weak US jobs data and debt woes in the eurozone, analysts said.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, climbed 49 cents to $71.68 a barrel.
London's Brent North Sea crude for March was up 46 cents to $70.05 per barrel.
"What we're seeing is a technical rebound. Investors are taking the opportunity to buy into the market after the massive selloff last week," said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst with the ANZ bank.
The markets digested news Friday that the US economy lost 20,000 jobs in January.
The non-farm payrolls data fell short of expectations for a gain of 15,000 jobs that would have been a clear sign of a turnaround in the troubled labour market and overall economy after a massive stimulus effort by the government.
The report showed the jobless rate eased to 9.7 per cent from 10.0 per cent in December, based on a household survey that appeared to contradict the payrolls data, but partly reflected how discouraged workers are leaving the labour force.
Sentiment was also hit by concerns that debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal may be unable to restore stability to their public finances after having spent heavily to combat recession.
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