Crude prices were up in Asia today amid nervous trade ahead of a closely-watched US jobs report to be released later in the day. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, gained three cents to 96.39 dollars a barrel.Brent North Sea crude for March delivery was up 18 cents to 112.25 dollars. Analysts say oil investors have turned cautious ahead of today's US government report on non-farm payrolls and unemployment. They expect the report, seen as a barometer of the US economy, to show a fall in the net number of jobs added to the economy in January, to 155,000 from 200,000 in December. No improvement in the unemployment rate of 8.5 percent is also forecasted, a worrying sign for the economy of the world's largest oil consumer.