Vancouver, British Columbia -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/21/2012 -- After the U.S. government reported a solid gain in jobs last month, oil futures ended at their highest level in a week last Friday. This means that the economy of the world’s biggest oil consumer is improving. April delivery of crude oil settled 0.8 percent or 82 cents higher at $107.40 a barrel, and for Boyd Clark Resource Capital Solutions it is the contract’s highest finish since March 1. While Brent crude oil on ICE Futures Europe settled 0.4 percent or 54 cents higher at $125.98 a barrel.

Since U.S. employment offers awareness into the economic health of the world’s biggest crude-oil consumer, oil traders have long been waiting for the monthly jobs report, because in general, an improving economy is correlated with an increase in demand for oil and fuel products like gasoline.

While in China, data released on Saturday showed that Chinese economy swung to a trade deficit of $31.48 billion in February, as crude oil and other key raw material imports surged.

Meanwhile, oil traders also booked profits from recent price rallies and following the robust upside rally in crude oil prices last week, investors were prompted to some profit taking today.