U.S. crude pares losses after jobless claims data

NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices pared losses Thursday after a government report showed new jobless benefit claims fell from the prior week.

Initial jobless claims fell to 472,000 in the week to Aug. 28, down from a revised higher 478,000 the previous week. [ID:nLLA2KE64D]

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude <CLV0> was down 38 cents, or 0.51 percent, at $73.53 a barrel by 8:38 a.m. EDT (1238 GMT), trading from $73.13 to $74.19.

Before the report, crude prices were about 70 cents lower as traders were cautious ahead of jobless claims and Friday's key August nonfarm payrolls data. Also weighing on oil prices were high U.S. oil inventories. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)