09:00 AM EDT, 08/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil edged higher early on Thursday, rising off the lowest since January following four losing sessions that came on weak Chinese demand and concerns over the health of the U.S. economy.

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was last seen up US$0.35 to US$72.78 per barrel after falling yesterday to the lowest since Jan. 8, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up US$0.46 to US$76.51.

Oil prices have dropped 9.8% over the past month on weak demand from China and low interest from institutional investors. While a 4.6-million barrel drop in U.S. inventories reported Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. demand remains healthy, traders focused instead on a sizable downward revision to U.S. employment growth, showing 818,000 fewer jobs than expected were added in the year ending on March 31.

"Apparently, the downgrade has raised the odds of hard landing. So, is the revised job growth report really something to be concerned about? Well, notwithstanding the sell-off in oil, equities climbed, bond yields edged lower, and the dollar weakened. If the perplexing swing in sentiment was unquestionably the product of the job data, which covers the period ending 5 months ago, ie. it is anything but forward-looking, then further weakness is implausible ... As the mantra goes the trend is our friend and prices have been on the descent for some times now, as anxiety about Chinese demand has become palpable," PVM Oil Associates notes.

Weekly initial jobless claims released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor matched expectations, with 232,000 new claims reported last week, up from 227,000 a week earlier but offering little to push oil prices higher or lower. Traders may be waiting on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Friday speech to the central bank's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to confirm interest rate cuts are likely to begin in September to spur gains for oil.