Oil rose in New York, trimming the biggest weekly decline in more than a month, before a report that may show U.S. employment increased in January.

Futures gained as much as 0.4 percent, snapping the longest losing streak since August. Employment climbed by 140,000 last month after rising 200,000 in December and the jobless rate held at an almost three-year low of 8.5 percent, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the Labor Department report. London-traded Brent’s premium to West Texas Intermediate widened to the biggest in 12 weeks yesterday.

Crude for March delivery advanced as much as 42 cents to $96.78 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $96.71 at 10:08 a.m. Sydney time. The contract fell 1.3 percent to $96.36 a barrel yesterday, the lowest since Dec. 19. Prices are down 2.9 percent this week, the biggest drop since the week ended Dec. 16.

Brent oil for March settlement gained 51 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $112.07 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday. The European benchmark contract’s premium to West Texas Intermediate futures closed at $15.71, the widest since Nov. 10.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mike Anderson in Singapore atmanderson34@bloomberg.net.

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