Oil lost ground Friday after unnerving economic reports from China and the U.S., although the decline was moderated by the latest report of declining activity in America’s oil patches.
Futures in New York closed down 1 percent, after a monthly jobs report showed U.S. hiring was the weakest in more than a year and China said exports had tailed off in February. Still, prices recouped much of the losses after Baker Hughes said working oil rigs in the U.S. fell for the third straight week.
