* Stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data raises Dec rate hike
bets
* Oil prices on track to a third week of declines in four
* Market barely moves on U.S. rejection of Keystone project
* Coming up: Weekly U.S. rig count report at 1800 GMT
(Updates with Obama announcing rejection of Keystone pipeline;
adds latest prices)
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Oil prices were down for a third
straight day on Friday, on track to their third weekly decline
in four, as the dollar rallied on expectations of an interest
rate hike before the year-end after strong U.S. jobs growth in
October.
Brent and U.S. crude futures headed for a weekly loss of
more than 4 percent as the dollar added to the bearish sentiment
in oil since Wednesday's government data showing a sixth weekly
build in U.S. crude stockpiles.
Up 5 percent since early October, the dollar hit 6-1/2-month
highs against a basket of currencies .DXY after data showing
U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 271,000 last month, the largest
growth in almost a year. USD/
The spike in employment makes it more likely the U.S.
Federal Reserve will hike rates in December, further bolstering
the dollar and making commodities denominated in the greenback
less affordable to holders of other currencies. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nLNN6MEBHQ
"The jobs number may be strength for the U.S. economy but
it's being interpreted as weakness for oil," said Pete Donovan,
broker at New York's Liquidity Energy.
"The thing to watch will be calendar spreads in crude. If
they keep widening, I don't imagine we will get much upside
retracement."
Brent LCOc1 , the global benchmark for oil, was down 50
cents, or 1 percent, at $47.48 a barrel by 12:18 p.m. EST (1718
GMT). It showed a loss of 4.1 percent on the week.
U.S. crude CLc1 slid 72 cents to $44.48. It was down 4.5
percent on the week.
The market took in stride President Barack Obama's rejection
of the proposed Canada to U.S. Keystone XL pipeline project that
has divided petroleum interests and environmentalists for over
seven years. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1311KJ
Calendar spreads in U.S. crude were little changed after the
decision on Keystone.
The discount between spot U.S. crude and its nearest month
CLc1-CLc2 remained above $1 a barrel, its widest since
mid-May.
The discount, also known as "contango," was steady at above
$6 for oil slated for delivery in December 2016 CLc1-CLc13 and
above $9 for December 2017 crude CLc1-CLc25 as traders stored
oil in the hope of selling it later for better prices.
Traders will be on the lookout later on Friday for the
weekly reading on the U.S. oil rig count to see if energy firms
were still shying away from new production due to low prices.
The data, due from industry firm Baker Hughes (N:BHI) at 1:00 p.m.
(1800 GMT), has shown rig cuts the past nine weeks. RIG/U