Investing.com - U.S. oil futures slid lower on Friday, but remained supported as ongoing wildfires in Canada continued to threaten local oil sands production.
U.S. crude futures for June delivery were last at $44.02 a barrel, down 0.68%.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the July Brent contract dropped 0.69% to $44.70 a barrel.
Wildfires around the Canadian oil city of Fort McMurray, in Northern Alberta has forced the evacuation of its residents and the closure of 690,000 barrels per day (bpd) of production from Canada's total oil sands output of 2.2 million bpd.
Crude prices were also supported as the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil output has fallen by 410,000 bpd this year, and by 800,000 bpd since mid-2015.
Traders were eyeing the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later Friday for further indications on the strength of the job market following several negative signs this week.
Payroll processing firm ADP said on Wednesday that non-farm private employment rose by 156,000 last month, missing expectations for an increase of 196,000.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending April 29 increased by 17,000 to 274,000 from the previous week’s total of 257,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 3,000 to 260,000 last week.