NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Commodities continued to sell off on Friday, with oil and silver sliding to their lowest levels since mid-March, as the dollar remained strong. Investors also remained on edge ahead of the government's closely-watched jobs report.

Oil slipped 3% early Friday to $96.85 a barrel. On Thursday, crude sank nearly 9% -- the biggest one-day percentage drop in two years.

Crude prices neared $114 a barrel last month as fears about supplies took hold following escalating violence in Libya. But as investors got 'accustomed' to those concerns, oil prices became mired in a fairly tight range...until this week.

In the past week, oil prices have tumbled more than 10% on worries that recent disappointing economic reports may mean we are in for an economic slowdown.

Investors are already on edge ahead of Friday's jobs report (due at 8:30 a.m. ET), with stocks taking a big hit Thursday.

Economists surveyed by CNNMoney predict the economy will have added 185,000 jobs in April. Employers boosted payrolls by 216,000 jobs in March, so if the number falls within expectations, it would mean a slight slowdown in the pace of job growth.

That weakness is in line with what other jobs reports this week have indicated. Earlier this week, payroll processing company ADP said private sector payrolls grew by 179,000 in April, after an upwardly revised 207,000 increase in March. Economists were expecting a gain of 200,000 private sector jobs.

The ADP jobs report typically set the tone for the government's monthly jobs data. Meanwhile, on Thursday, a report showed jobless claims surged to the highest level in eight months.

In other commodities, silver prices slid 7% Friday, while gold ticked down slightly after dropping more than 2% on Thursday. Silver has taken a big hit after the CME raised its margin requirements, meaning traders have to leave more on the table to buy silver futures.

The dollar remained higher against the euro early Friday, after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday. The dollar gained nearly 2% on Thursday. Because crude prices are priced in dollars, a stronger U.S. currency tends to pressures commodities.

Even gas prices declined on Friday, following a 44-day string of gains -- during which the price of gasoline surged 12%. The national average price for a gallon of gasoline fell one tenth of a cent to $3.984 on Friday, according to motorist group AAA. 'Should I invest in silver?'



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