U.S. crude initially pares loss after jobless data

NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices initially pared losses on Thursday on news that first-time jobless claims fell more than expected last week in the United States.

Initial jobless claims fell to 404,000 in the week to Jan. 15, against a consensus forecast for 420,000 claims, from 441,000 the previous week. [ID:nLLAKCE7AJ]

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, expiring February crude <CLG1> fell 75 cents, or 0.83 percent, to $90.11 a barrel at 8:40 a.m. EST (1340 GMT), trading from $89.90 to $90.86.

Prices were also down 75 cents when the report was released.

NYMEX March crude <CLH1> also initially pared losses, and was down 74 cents at $91.07 a barrel, after being down about 80 cents ahead of the report. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)