Oil tumbled more than 2 percent Friday, giving up most of its gains for the week after the latest government data showed hiring in the U.S. is at a virtual standstill.
The Labor Department said that employers added the fewest jobs in nine months and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June. A slowdown in hiring means that gasoline demand could remain stagnant as fewer workers join the daily commute and consumers limit driving and trips to the gas station as they watch their spending.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery gave up $2.41, or 2.4 percent, at $96.26 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude lost 85 cents at $117.74 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. WTI started the week around $95 a barrel and rose as high as $99.42 during trading on Thursday.
Gasoline futures also dropped after the jobs report.
GM offers buyers free auto insurance
Auto insurance can really drive up the price of buying a car. Now General Motors is hoping to get more buyers into showrooms by offering a free one-year policy to customers who buy or lease new cars before Sept. 6.
The promotion is currently being tested only in Oregon and Washington. But the company says it may eventually be rolled out more widely.
The offer applies to new 2010, 2011 or 2012 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac cars, trucks and crossovers. The policy, which is being provided by MetLife Auto & Home, includes liability, collision and comprehensive coverage.
There is no discount for buyers who decline the offer and opt to find their own policy.
MetLife notes that its policy includes the replacement of new vehicles that are damaged beyond repair within the first 15,000 miles or the first year, whichever comes first.
Unlike with many other insurers, MetLife says that its policy does not require out-of-pocket expenses to make up for the depreciation of the car at the time of the accident.
BMW to buy ING’s car-leasing division
Automaker BMW AG says it is buying a car leasing unit of Dutch bank ING Groep NV for $912 million.
BMW said Friday that its international fleet management division, Alphabet, will acquire ING Car Lease in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Alphabet chief Norbert van den Eijnden says that “in the growing European fleet management market, ING Car Lease is the perfect fit to complement the activities” of the BMW subsidiary.
ING Car Lease manages 240,000 vehicles in eight European countries and has about 1,200 employees.
China vehicle sales up only 3.3 percent
A report says vehicle sales in China, the world’s biggest market, rose 3.3 percent in the first half of the year, as the market cooled after years of torrid growth.
The official Xinhua News Agency cited industry figures saying sales of all vehicles rose to 9.3 million, while output climbed only 2.5 percent to 9.2 million.
Sales have slowed in recent months after the expiration of government incentives aimed at boosting purchases of energy-efficient vehicles.
