document: Crude oil at 30-month high on jobs growth , weak $ US CRUDE oil prices surged to fresh 2 1/2 - year highs near $ US108 a barrel today on stronger than expected US jobs growth in March and weakness in the US dollar . The US Labour Department said non-farm payrolls rose by 216,000 compared with economists ' estimates of a rise of 195,000 . The February figure was revised upward to 194,000 from an estimate of 192,000 , while the unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8 per cent from 8.9 per cent a month ago . '' `` The jobs data shows the economy is improving and demand should remain strong , '' '' said Andy Lebow , senior vice-president at brokerage MF Global . Light , sweet crude oil for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled higher by $ US1 .22 , or 1.1 per cent , at $ US107 .94 a barrel . That was the highest level since September 25 , 2008 . The contract hit an intra-day high of $ US108 .05 a barrel in the final minutes of trading for the week . Front-month May ICE North Sea Brent crude settled at $ US118 .70 a barrel , the highest price since August 21 , 2008 , and up $ US1 .34 on the day . Traders said chart patterns suggest Nymex crude can easily make a run for $ US110 a barrel and beyond . The rally fed upon itself as prices responded to US-dollar weakness . Rich Ilczyszyn , a broker at Lind-Waldock said : '' `` A lot of players are looking at this market and saying , '' `` Do I really want to go home short oil ? '' '' '' '' The US dollar shed early strength after William Dudley , president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York , said it was n't time yet to '' `` reverse course '' '' and tighten monetary policy amid a '' `` tenuous '' '' US recovery , in contrast to recent hawkish comments from other Fed officials . A weaker US dollar generally makes crude oil cheaper for investors using foreign currencies . Still , Jason Schenker , president of Prestige Economics , said the improving US economic conditions mean the time is drawing nearer when the Fed will begin to slowly tighten policy . '' `` We will not be going from an accommodative to an austere policy , but to a slightly less accommodative policy , '' '' around the middle of 2012 , he predicted . Higher rates would come in response to stronger economic growth , which would underpin oil prices or support further gains , he said , while continued improvement in the jobs situation would help insulate consumers against rising gasoline prices . Traders said a strong infusion of new investment from commodity funds at the start of the second quarter helped drive gains against a backdrop of uncertainty surrounding the on-going Libyan civil war and lingering concerns over the potential for civil unrest elsewhere in the Middle East , the global oil patch . A Libyan rebel leader said his forces are ready for a ceasefire , provided Muammar Gaddafi 's forces end their assaults on rebel-held cities , but there was n't any immediate sign that would take place . Rebels said also they had reached a deal in which Qatar will market crude from rebel-held areas , in exchange for food , medicine , and funds to buy weapons . Oil exports of 1 million barrels per week could come from the Sarir oilfield once vessels are available to transport it , the rebels said . Prior to the unrest , begun in mid-February , Libya was pumping about 2 per cent of global oil supplies , and exporting about 1m bpd . Saudi Arabia , the world 's largest oil exporter has boosted output to offset the shortfall and is offering similar-quality crude to Libyan customers in Europe . Traders noted that the higher prices come as US oil supplies remain high . Crude oil inventories at Cushing , Oklahoma - the delivery point for the Nymex contract - stand at a record high and are 35 per cent higher than supplies from a year ago . That has kept the US benchmark depressed relative to Brent crude , which traders said better reflects strong global demand . US gasoline inventories are sufficient to cover 24.5 days of current demand , compared with a five-year average of 24.1 days , even as retail prices stand at record levels for this time of year and the spectre of higher prices looms as the peak summer demand season approaches . AAA Daily Fuel Gauge said the nationwide price of regular gasoline at the pump was $ US3 .62 a gallon overnight , up 6.8 per cent from a month ago . Current futures prices suggest retail prices nearing $ US3 .80 a gallon soon . The driving force behind higher gasoline is the price of crude . Nymex crude on a monthly average basis was up 15 per cent in March compared with December , while Brent was up 24 per cent . May-delivery reformulated gasoline blendstock futures settled higher by US2 .25 cents at $ US3 .1302 a gallon , the highest price since July 30 , 2008 . Heating oil futures settled higher at $ US3 .1452 a gallon , up US3 .27 c , and the highest since August 29 , 2008 .
extractive_keyphrases: president summer demand season higher accommodative time shortfall gasoline midfebruary suggest price low estimate surrounding remain largest oil exporter december week ceasefire oil demand economy pump economic weakness benchmark crude quarter gallon today february figure strength immediate nationwide strong infusion growth drive final civil unrest labour department month delivery home exchange dollar highest since august really point improvement unemployment similarquality vicepresident muammar federal contrast middle stronger market austere policy underpin barrel recent intraday investment rise mean spectre potential insulate commodity tighten average us vessels rebels 11 sarir oilfield the jobs lindwaldock rally usdollar 1 million barrels broker rich ilczyszyn william dudley mf global andy lebow new york march
abstractive_keyphrases: food medicine highest price regular gasoline us dollar contract hit an intraday highs near us108 crude oil prices oil exports us122 federal reserve bank new york mercantile exchange