* Oil falls almost 1 pct; WTI down on week, Brent up
* Down for third day, nervous ahead of payrolls
* Widening NYMEX spreads to draw in more crude to storage
(Updates prices, adds quotes and details)
By Nick Trevethan
SINGAPORE, Dec 3 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures fell for a
third day on Friday, to below $76 a barrel, pressured by weak
U.S. service sector data and nervousness ahead of non-farm
payrolls data later in the day.
Commodity markets got off to a shaky start -- gold <XAU=>
slipped back towards $1,200 an ounce after Thursday's record
highs, copper <MCU3> was steady but well off recent 14-month
highs, and the dollar ticked up versus a basket of currencies.
Equity markets were mixed, with Sydney's ASX 200 <>
down 1.3 percent, but Japan's Nikkei <> gained 0.3
percent.
NYMEX crude for January delivery <CLc1> fell 60 cents to
$75.86 a barrel by 0220 GMT, after settling down 14 cents at
$76.46 on Thursday.
Brent crude <LCOc1> dipped 56 cents to $77.80.
Crude prices tumbled on Wednesday after the release of U.S.
inventory data, which showed crude and gasoline inventories
jumped last week as the weak economy continued to batter demand
in the world's top consumer. []
The losses put U.S. crude on track for a 0.25 percent fall
this week, but Brent is headed for a 0.8 percent rise.
"Oil is flooding into Cushing and depressing values for
WTI. At this time, Brent is probably more representative of the
global physical market," MF Global analyst Edward Meir said.
He added that prices would likely bounce if support at
around $75 comes under scrutiny on nervousness ahead of U.S.
non-farm payrolls data later on Friday.
"The payrolls data is causing a bit of nervousness and
people are backing away. Expectations are for a 120,000 decline
but we might see a slightly bigger decline."
The White House said on Thursday a private-sector payroll
report had signalled that November's unemployment level may
tick up from 10.2 percent in October, but stressed it was not
predicting the outcome of the government's monthly payroll
data. []
Analysts polled by Reuters expected the unemployment rate to
be unchanged at 10.2 percent.
Traders remain concerned about widening spreads between
front and second month WTI, which stood at around a $1.80
contango on Friday versus 50 cents in the middle of November.
The Brent contango was 74 cents, more or less steady since
mid-May.
"There are contangoes across the board, but it's especially
steep in NYMEX. This will mean more stored oil," a trader said.
"It costs about a dollar a month roughly to store crude in
a tanker. If you can pick up a $1.50 or more contango per
barrel, it's the easiest money you'll make -- providing you get
hold of the ship and the stock."
In the longer term, prices were expected to rise. U.S.
investment bank Goldman Sachs <GS.N> saw prices averaging $90 a
barrel next year and $110 in 2011, as strong growth in emerging
market economies boosts crude demand. []
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
((nicholas.trevethan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3822;
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