Brent crude continued to fall on Monday and stayed below $101 a barrel after disappointing US jobs data outweighed buoyant Chinese export and oil import figures.

Brent and U.S. crude futures both fell more than $1 on Friday after data showing U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose by 142,000 in August, well below a forecast 225,000, casting doubt on the pace of growth in the world's biggest oil-consuming economy.

On Monday, Brent was down 11 cents at $100.71 a barrel as of 0347 GMT after briefly hitting $101 a barrel in choppy early morning trade.

The benchmark fell $1.01 to settle at $100.82 a barrel on Friday, to record its third weekly drop in four.

U.S. crude slipped 2 cents to $93.27 a barrel after settling at $93.29, its sixth weekly drop in seven.

"Oil prices remain soft. Brent is down on Friday's close due to economic concerns about the payroll figures. Investors are wary of the numbers," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at Sydney's CMC Markets.

The concerns about the United States overshadowed to some extent economic data from China on Monday that showed export growth in August was a little ahead of expectations, while crude oil imports were also up.

China's exports climbed 9.4 percent in August, the General Administration of Customs said, although imports fell 2.4 per cent. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a rise of 8 percent..

"The export figure is pretty close to expectations so there is not much impact, although it's a bit of a relief to see figures come in in-line. The greatest risk was to the downside. It's pretty neutral to the oil market overall," Spooner said.

China imported 25.19 million tonnes of crude oil in August, up 6.0 percent from 23.76 million the previous month, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs. Imports of oil products rose 36.0 percent to 2.53 million tonnes while exports of oil products rose 18.2 percent to 2.73 million tonnes.

Investors are keeping an eye on wider geopolitical concerns in Europe and the Middle East, especially on the impact the tensions could have on European demand, Spooner said.

A ceasefire between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists started to fray on Sunday as shelling resumed near the port of Mariupol and fighting broke out on the outskirts of rebel-held Donetsk, killing one woman and wounding four other people.

The European Union is expected to implement a further round of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis on Monday, which could target oil company Rosneft, units of Gazprom and 24 individuals.

President Barack Obama will brief lawmakers and make a televised address this week to explain how the United States will tackle the threat posed by Islamic State militants who have overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Fighting flared between rival groups in Benghazi and near the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and leading to fears the OPEC producer will turn into a failed state. – Reuters