Crude oil futures were steady during mid-morning trade in Asia Aug. 6, as the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus in key oil-consuming economies continued to limit the market’s upside and as participants await the upcoming US nonfarm payrolls data to gauge the country’s economic conditions. At 11:32 am Singapore time (0332 GMT), the ICE October Brent futures contract was up 14 cents/b (0.2%) from the previous close at $71.48/b, while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract rose 12 cents/b (0.17%) at $69.21/b. The front month Brent and NYMEX light sweet crude markers had settled 1.29% and 1.38% higher on Aug. 5, rising in tandem with the broader financial markets on risk-on sentiment following the release of a positive weekly unemployment claims report from the US Labor Department. The oil rally, however, […]