Oil dips to 2012 low on concerns over U.S. jobs, European elections

Oil prices continued a three-day slide this morning and slipped below $98 a barrel as a slowdown in U.S. hiring and new election results in Europe dimmed expectations of stronger economic growth. By midafternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for June delivery was down 75 cents to $97.74 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, the contract fell to a low of $95.34 before paring losses. On Friday, it plunged $4.05 to settle at $98.49. In London, Brent crude was down 20 cents at $112.98 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Crude has slumped from $110 in February amid signs oil demand may be weaker than previously expected. The Energy Department said last week that U.S. crude inventories have risen to the highest level since 1990. That was followed by the Labor Department announcing on Friday the economy added 115,000 jobs in April, far fewer than the 165,000 analysts were expecting. Investors are also concerned political upheaval in Europe could derail government austerity measures and worsen the region’s debt problems. French Socialist François Hollande, who promised during the presidential election campaign to boost spending, defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy. In Greece, the pro-austerity coalition parties suffered a sharp decline in support, which might undermine efforts to keep Greece in the euro currency bloc. Oil traders often look to global equities as a measure of overall investor sentiment, and stock markets in Asia and Europe are also down today.