US Light sweet crude oil futures for July delivery closed trading at $71.51 a barrel on the NYMEX, while in London, Brent crude oil futures ended at $71.71 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

The latest US jobs data showed that the private sector created only 41,000 jobs however most analysts had expected 226,000 private payrolls to be added.

“The US payroll figures did manage to surprise the oil market on the negative side,” said Sucden research analyst Myrto Sokou in London.

The data sent stock markets and oil prices sharply lower in trading and the Dow Jones finished the week under the 10,000 mark and down over three percent.

Meanwhile, the US dollar surged to its highest level against the euro in more than four years which tends to have a negative effect on oil prices. The euro sank as low as $1.1956, its weakest level since it bought $1.1920 in March 2006 and well below the $1.2182 it bought in New York late Thursday.