Oil prices rise on passage of U.S. debt limit bill, strong payroll data

NEW YORK, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil futures prices extended gains on Friday thanks to optimism over U.S. Congress' nod of debt ceiling deal and strong U.S. employment data in May.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for July delivery added 1.64 U.S. dollars, or 2.34 percent, to settle at 71.74 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery picked up 1.85 U.S. dollars, or 2.49 percent, to settle at 76.13 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the U.S. government debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025, which basically removed uncertainty around U.S. possible default on its debts.

Moreover, the United States added 339,000 non-farm payrolls in May, higher than forecast consensus of 190,000 and 294,000 in April, according to data issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.

Crude prices are having a strong finish to the week after the U.S. jobs report showed the economy is not ready to head into a recession, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of online multi-asset trading services.

With oil at uncomfortable levels for most energy production countries, no one wants to be short crude going into a weekend meeting by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners, added Moya.

OPEC and its partners are scheduled to hold high-level face-to-face meetings on Sunday with oil production policy as the main topic.