Brent oil skids back under $80 as US market turns bearish

Brent oil is looking to end the week back under the $80 mark in late trading today as US stock markets turned bearish on the latest grim data out of the US.

In London, Brent crude oil futures for September 2010 delivery was trading at $79.66, 19.00 GMT on the ICE Futures Exchange, dropping off over $2 a barrel in just a few hours.

US monthly jobs data renewed concerns over the fragile state of the US economic recovery and sent investors scurrying to safer assets.

“The economic recovery is going to be like running on the beach with boots on.” said Stephen Wood, chief market strategist at Russell Investments.

Gold prices rose above the $1,200 psychological benchmark as investors moved to the perceived safety of the metal. The weakening US dollar after the report is further helping dollar denominated commodities incvluding gold as it less expensive for buyers using other currencies.

However, oil prices are also affected by the ability of western economies to show signs of recovery, which was hard to see today in the US figures.

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