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NEW YORK - Crude oil futures rose as the Dollar declined on jobless data, which for many economists signaled the United States is entering into a recession.

The Dollar fell against the Euro as U.S. payrolls in March slumped by 80,000 and the unemployment rate climbed to 5.1 percent, the Labor Department reported in Washington today.

This is the third straight monthly loss and the highest decline in payrolls in five years, while the percentage of unemployment rate is the highest since 2005.

After the dollar dropped investors spurred money into the commodity sector as a hedge against inflation.

Crude oil futures for May in the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $2.41 or 2.32 percent to $106.24 a barrel by 3:22 p.m.

Brent crude futures climbed $2.18 or 2.12 percent to $104.80 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Negative reports in economy raise concerns that a recession in the United States may curb global demand of crude.

U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said earlier this week that the economy of the nation could fall into recession in the first semester of 2008, alarming investors and markets around the world.