Oil slips as demand worries linger

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Thursday as concerns about weak global fuel demand outweighed strong economic growth in China and better-than-expected U.S. banking results.

U.S. crude oil for August delivery fell 49 cents to $61.05 a barrel by 1745 GMT (1:45 p.m. EDT) after hitting a low of $60.29 a barrel. London Brent crude slipped 43 cents to $62.66 ahead of the August contract's expiry later on Thursday.

The losses come amid lingering worries about global energy demand, contracting for the first time in a quarter century under the weight of the economic recession.

The global slowdown has cut world oil demand by as much as 2.5 million barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency.

Jim Ritterbusch, president at Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois, added that recent government data showing increases in U.S. refined fuel supplies added to bearish sentiment in the oil market.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that gasoline and distillate supplies rose last week despite increased domestic refining activity, while crude inventories dipped more than expected.

Oil's losses were limited by news that China, the world's second largest energy consumer, saw surprisingly strong growth of 7.9 percent in the second quarter, fueled by state spending and bank lending.

In the United States, data showed new jobless claims fell to their lowest level since January, but the Labor Department was keen to emphasize an unusual pattern in automotive layoffs had amplified the drop.

JPMorgan and Chase & Co reported a 36 percent rise in quarterly profit, topping Wall Street forecasts. But the bank warned that credit quality in consumer mortgages and credit cards was deteriorating faster than expected.

Also highlighting the ongoing problems facing the world economy is the looming bankruptcy of CIT Group Inc , a lender to hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized U.S. businesses, after bailout talks with the U.S. government fell apart.

(Additional reporting by Fayen Wong in Perth and Richard Valdmanis in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)