Oil rises on positive sign for US jobs

Benchmark oil for April delivery gained $1.13 to finish at $91.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas futures jumped 11 cents to $3.58 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The four-week average for applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to its lowest level in five years, the Labor Department said Thursday. A government report Friday is expected to show that employers in the U.S., the biggest consumer of oil and petroleum products, added 152,000 jobs last month.

Some support for crude came from a weaker dollar, which makes oil cheaper and a more enticing investment for traders using other currencies. On Thursday, the euro was up to $1.3110 from $1.2974 late Wednesday in New York.

Oil is still down about 6 percent over the past three weeks, a drop that has been showing up at the gas pump. The average price for a gallon of gasoline is now $3.72 after falling 6 cents in the past week. That's given drivers some relief after pump prices spiked around 50 cents from Jan. 1 to the end of February.