* Prices head for biggest weekly drop since early May
* For a technical view, click: []
* Coming Up: U.S. June non-farm payrolls; 1230 GMT
(Recasts with steady prices, adds graphic on weekly price
moves)
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, July 2 (Reuters) - Oil was steady below $73 on
Friday, near 3-week lows after a spate of weak manufacturing
data renewed worries about slower global economic growth ahead
of a key U.S. jobs report.
Manufacturing growth cooled around the world in June,
reports from China, Europe and the U.S. showed on Thursday,
adding to evidence that the global economic recovery is losing
steam. []
Investors will seek further direction from Friday's U.S.
unemployment report for June, with non-farm payrolls expected
to have declined by 110,000 as many of the temporary workers
hired in May to complete the U.S. census were laid off.
[]
U.S. crude for August <CLc1> slid 18 cents to $72.77 a
barrel by 0540 GMT, after touching $72.05 on Thursday, the
lowest intraday price since June 9.
"The market still needs to see strong signs of recovery to
move higher," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives
manager at brokerage Newedge in Japan. "If the jobs number is
bad, prices will extend losses toward $70."
Front-month WTI has declined every day this week and is
poised for the biggest weekly drop in percentage terms since
early May, when the European debt crisis roiled markets, at
more than 7 percent.
For a graphic showing oil's weekly price changes:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ABE_20100207131004.jpg
Brent crude edged higher on Friday, with the August
contract <LCOc1> up 4 cents at $72.38.
Japan's Nikkei average edged up 0.4 percent on Friday after
five straight days of falls as charts showed the benchmark
deeply oversold, while the euro held near five-week highs
against the dollar. [] []
Hurricane Alex dissipated over central Mexico, having
spared most oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Producers on Thursday were already restarting some of the
421,350 barrels per day (bpd) of oil output, about a quarter of
the U.S. Gulf of Mexico total, that were shut as a precaution.
[]
On Monday prices rose above $79 to the highest level since
May 6 as Alex regained strength in the gulf, forcing the
shutdown of two Mexican loading terminals.
"This market tried to touch the upper end of the $70-$80
trading range but it failed. Now it is time to go to the lower
limit," said Hasegawa.
New claims for U.S. jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last
week, while an ISM report and data showing pending sales of
previously owned U.S. homes plunged a record 30 percent in May
to an all-time low also disappointed markets on Thursday.
But a better-than-expected monthly jobs report for June
could spark a bout of short-covering and provide a bounce for
equities and oil ahead of the long U.S. Independence Day
weekend.
Energy data provider Genscape said on Thursday that
Cushing, Oklahoma crude stocks fell 285,000 in the week to
Tuesday, reducing a glut that has depressed front-month U.S.
crude prices relative to contracts for later delivery.
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(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
