Oil was higher in Asian trade after falling at the end of last week in reaction to a surge in US unemployment figures, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, was up 81 cents to USD 78.24 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery gained 71 cents to USD 76.58.

Both contracts closed Friday lower after official data by the Labor Department showed the US unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 per cent in October as 190,000 jobs were shed.

"I think it's a bit of a surprise.... Most of the traders were expecting markets to fall to the 75, 76-dollar level," said Jonathan Kornafel, Asian director of Hudson Capital Energy trading house.

He added that the price surge was due to "panic buying" by traders in a market lacking liquidity after the unemployment data.

The Labor Department report, seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum, showed a rise in the jobless rate, up from 9.8 percent in September, to the highest since 1983. But the number of jobs lost narrowed to the lowest level in more than one year.

The United States is the world's biggest energy user and is seen as key to perking up oil demand, which has been hit by the global slump.