Oil Prices Extend Uptrend Following U.S. Attack On Syria

(RTTNews) - Oil prices extended a recent upward trend during trading on Friday following news the U.S. launched a missile strike on a Syrian airbase overnight.

Crude oil for May delivery climbed $0.54 to $52.24 a barrel, ending the session at its highest closing level in a month.

The increase by the price of crude oil came after U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles targeting the al-Shayrat airbase in central Syria.

President Donald Trump claimed a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held Syrian town earlier this week was launched from the airbase that was struck.

While Syria is not a major oil producer, the attack raised concerns about a broader conflict in the region that could affect supplies.

On the U.S. economic front, a report from the Labor Department showed much weaker than expected job growth in March but also an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 98,000 jobs in March after surging up by a revised 219,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected an increase of about 180,000 jobs.

Despite the weaker than expected job growth, the unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in March from 4.7 percent in February. The unemployment rate had been expected to come in unchanged.

With the unexpected decrease, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since hitting 4.4 percent in May of 2007.