SINGAPORE: Brent crude held steady near $108 a barrel on Friday as investors look ahead to key jobs data from the United States for more signs of economic recovery, which would boost fuel demand.
Data from the US and China this week pointed to some stabilisation in the global recovery trend, but investors remained sceptical about a sustained improvement in the fragile economy.
Brent crude for December had edged down 11 cents to $108.06 a barrel by 0721 GMT, while US crude for December was down 37 cents at $86.72.
"Everyone is waiting for the jobs data tonight," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity sales manager at Newedge Japan.
"The global economy is looking better than before, but there is still a lot of uncertainty in Europe and the US".
Brent could rise to about $109.50 a barrel if the jobs data released later on Friday turns out better than expected, Hasegawa said. But weaker-than-expected data could push Brent below $107, he said.
In the US, consumer confidence improved sharply while companies added jobs in October at the fastest pace in eight months, a sign of modest healing in the labour market.
Factory activity at Asia's large economies started to pick up steam in October after a year of slower growth, surveys showed on Thursday, while US manufacturing showed modest improvement.
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