European shares slipped on Friday ahead of the August U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, a closely watched indicator of labor-market strength that could influence the Federal Reserve’s policy path. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.1% to 648.67 points by 0710 GMT, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.1%, London’s FTSE declined 0.1% and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.2%. Volkswagen shares surged 6% after the supervisory board approved a transformation and turnaround agreement involving 50,000 job cuts, preventing a further escalation with unions and shareholder Lower Saxony. The broader European autos index gained 1.1%. Renewed conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude trading around $96 a barrel and heading for its steepest weekly increase since mid-July. Chemical and banking stocks each fell almost 1%, weighing on the region’s benchmark index.