Brent crude oil fell to an eight-month low below $104 a barrel on Friday as data showed a much sharper slowdown in hiring by U.S. employers than analysts had expected.
Crude oil was pushed lower by fears of further turmoil in the euro zone, as Cyprus scrambled to avoid bankruptcy, and by manufacturing data which showed a deepening downturn in the currency bloc.
The world's largest energy consumer is producing more of its own supplies and importing less foreign oil, leading some to argue that a strategic stockpile is no longer viable.
Right now, China's energy-hungry economy appears more important to oil markets than instability in crude-producing countries. Yet analysts say the world's second-largest economy has less pull on market prices than it did even a few short years ago.
Brent crude oil rose above $108 a barrel, recovering from a three-month low, after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it would continue its stimulus programs and on optimism that European policymakers can keep a debt crisis in Cyprus from spreading.
"Tell me the case where you need it?," T. Boone Pickens said of the US's strategic petroleum reserve. Getting rid of it would save the country "one heck of a lot of money," he said.
Oil fell Tuesday as Cyprus lawmakers rejected a measure to tax bank accounts as part of a bailout plan for its shriveled economy and worries persisted about Europe's debt problems.
Brent crude clawed back above $109 a barrel in choppy Monday trading, with oil undermined by falling stocks and a stronger dollar amid new euro zone turmoil.
NBC News and CNBC look at the implications US energy independence would have for the economy, other types of energy, foreign policy and the environment.
Africa offers interesting investment opportunities for energy companies, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Energy told CNBC, while the Middle East is no riskier than Europe.
Benchmark oil prices are likely to extend gains this week on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will restate its commitment to an ultra-easy monetary policy at a meeting this week.
Unfortunately for many consumers, the price savings from the growing U.S. energy boom have yet to materialize in the place it could have the most impact: the gas pump.