Oil prices hover at $51

VIENNA:

Crude futures slipped from four-month highs but remained above the $51 mark Friday after US government data showed a smaller than expected build in crude stocks. Analysts said that - beyond short-term factors like weather and stock builds - the perception that OPEC was keen to keep prices up was putting a high floor under the market. — AP

10pc jobless in France

PARIS:

French unemployment hit 10 per cent of the workforce in January, the first time it has reached that level in five years, figures released Friday by the national statistics institute INSEE showed. The number of jobseekers rose by 0.7 per cent from December and by 1.6 per cent on an annual basis to a total of 2,461,600 people, INSEE said. — AFP