West Texas Intermediate crude oil was little changed in early floor trading on the New York Mercantile after rebounding from a decline of 0.7 percent.

WTI for March delivery declined 11 cents to $97.73 a barrel at 9:04 a.m. The price ranged from $97.11 to $98.14. The volume of all futures traded was 21 percent more than the 100-day average.

Brent for March settlement rose 37 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $107.56 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $9.83 to WTI on the ICE exchange, compared with $9.35 yesterday.

WTI rebounded after the Labor Department reported payrolls in the U.S. rose less than projected in January as retailers cut back after the holidays and government hiring fell. The unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 6.6 percent to the lowest level since October 2008 even as more Americans entered the labor force.

In China, the HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics’ services Purchasing Managers’ Index slid to 50.7 percent, the lowest since August 2011, a report today showed. The nation’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to a six-month low of 50.5 in January as output and orders slowed, Feb. 1 data show. Numbers above 50 signal expansion.

Gold prices rose after the release less positive than expected U.S. data on employment.

In January, the U.S. labor market for the second month in a row was recorded weak job growth . It can strengthen concerns about the economic recovery and may cause some investors to urge the U.S. Federal Reserve to rethink his strategy .

As reported on Friday, the U.S. Labor Department , the number of jobs outside agriculture in January rose by 113,000 adjusted for seasonal variations. Accelerated growth rate compared to December , but was below the average growth rate in the past year . December job growth was revised upward for 1000 to 75 000, and the November growth - also upwards of 33 000 to 274 000 .

Job growth in January was weak compared with the average growth in the period between August and November , when the index grows by more than 200,000 .

The U.S. Labor Department also reported that the unemployment rate in January fell to 6.6 % from 6.7 % in December. The number of employed Americans and labor also increased slightly .

Chinese buyers returned to the market on Friday after a week's absence, and the >

Gold $1,257.70 +0.50 +0.04%

Oil $97.81 -0.03 -0.03%