Oil prices fell Friday after the US government reported that the unemployment rate moved to a 26-year high, raising fresh concerns that energy demand will remain weak even if the economy is heading out of the recession. Benchmark crude for October delivery fell 15 cents to $67.81 a barrel in on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract Thursday slipped 9 cents to settle at $67.96. In London, Brent crude fell 48 cents to $66.64. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent in August. With 216,000 jobs lost, unemployment has reached levels last seen in 1983.
