Tags: US shed Jobs , Oil Prices , New York

New York: Oil prices tumbled to their lowest level in a month today following the release of woeful job numbers in Europe and the US.

Benchmark crude for August delivery fell USD 2.34, more than 3 per cent, to USD 66.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped as low as USD 66.54 a barrel earlier in the day.

In the United States a Labour Department report showed the economy lost a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, with the unemployment rate rising to 9.5 per cent from 9.4 per cent in May, underscoring concerns about the pace of economic recovery.

Analysts had been expecting payroll reductions of 363,000 in June. Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 6.5 million jobs.

That has destroyed demand for energy on numerous levels.

Employees who have lost jobs or are in fear of losing jobs are driving less and buying fewer goods, many of them petroleum based.

Factories also have curbed production and are using less natural gas and electricity.

US stores of natural gas continue to grow as energy demand weakens. The government reported that the nation's surplus grew more than expected last week, and it's now 21 per cent above the five-year average.

The job numbers in the US came on the heels of an awful employment picture in Europe.

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