New York, March 5 - Wall Street stocks fell slightly Friday despite the government figures showing the US jobless rate dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years.

Markets instead reacted to the price of oil rising to its highest level in 29 months. Crude oil in New York trading rose 2.5 percent to $104.42 per barrel amid ongoing clashes between rebels and government forces in Libya.

The Labour Department said unemployment dipped to 8.9 percent in February, the first time the rate fell below 9 percent since April 2009. Employers added 192,000 jobs on the month, the most since May 2010, in a sign that companies may be starting to hire again after many months of unease about the US economy.

Yet the labour figures came in roughly as economists had expected, and had little positive effect on the markets.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 88.32 points, or 0.72 percent, to 12,169.88. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index was down 9.82 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,321.15. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 14.07 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,784.67.

The Friday losses left the major indices only slightly higher at the end of a topsy-turvy week, as investors reacted to US economic data and oil-price fluctuations brought on by the unrest in Libya. Wall Street stocks had surged Thursday by the most in three months.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.33 percent, the S&P 500 was up 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.13 percent.

The US currency dipped to 71.51 euro cents from 71.62 euro cents Thursday. The dollar slipped against the Japanese currency to 82.27 yen from 82.4 yen. (dpa)