Oil pulled back in Asia on Friday amid lacklustre trading in regional stocks ahead of a key US jobs report which could give fresh clues on the health of the recession-hit economy.

In afternoon trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September, was down 19 cents to $71.75 a barrel, after hitting a five-week high of $72.42 on Thursday.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in September dropped 16 cents to $74.67 a barrel after briefly touching $76 on Thursday, its highest level this year.

"Oil is retreating a bit and that's not surprising considering that Asian equity markets are also easing," said Victor Shum, senior principal at energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.

"Oil has followed equities for quite a few months already."

Japanese share prices ended narrowly mixed Friday as investors refrained from active buying ahead of key US jobs data, mirroring subdued trading across the region.

The Nikkei-225 index edged up 24.00 points, or 0.23 percent, to 10 412.09.

Despite crude prices staying above $70, Shum said caution remains in the oil market because of weak energy demand from major economies hit by the global economic downturn.

"The market fundamentals really do not provide support to the current price levels which look vulnerable," he said.

Investors were also awaiting the release Friday by the US Labour Department of the July jobs report which analysts expect will provide a fresh indication of the prospects for recovery for the world's biggest economy, Shum said.

Most economists expect the data will show the unemployment rate climbed to 9.6 percent, from a 26-year high of 9.5 percent in June, and the economy shed 328 000 non-farm jobs.

Data released Wednesday by the US Department of Energy (DoE) painted a mixed picture of oil demand in the United States, the world's biggest energy user.

The widely monitored DoE report said US crude oil stockpiles soared by 1.7 million barrels in the week ending 31 July, three times more than the average analyst projection.

Inventories of distillates, which include diesel and heating fuel, sank by 1.1 million barrels, instead of the 900 000-barrel increase expected.

Gasoline reserves fell by 200 000 million barrels, far less than the drop of 1.3 million barrels anticipated.