UPDATE 6-Oil falls from 6-month peak as jobs, Fed data weigh

                                
 * Weak US jobs data pulls crude down from 6-month highs
                                
 * OPEC unlikely to change targets at meeting-Gulf delegate
                                
 * Wall Street slide, stronger dollar also pressure prices
                                
 (Recasts, updates prices, market activity; new dateline,
previously LONDON)
                                
 NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - Oil fell more than 2 percent
on Thursday, dragged down off six-month highs as signs of job
market weakness stoked concerns about the economy.
                                
 U.S. crude <CLc1> traded down $1.55 to $60.49 a barrel at
12:14 p.m. EDT (1614 GMT), after hitting a six-month high over
$62 on Wednesday. London Brent <LCOc1> fell $1.19 at $59.40.
                                
 "The petroleum markets are lower on profit-taking this
morning as traders take note of a downturn in the equity
markets that erodes faith in the hopes of a V-shaped economic
recovery," said Tim Evans, analyst, Citi Futures Perspective,
in New York City.
                                
 U.S. stocks slid after a disappointing Fed regional survey
and government unemployment data showed so-called continued
claims rose to a fresh record while new jobless claims fell.
[.N]
                                
 Manufacturing in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region contracted
for the eighth consecutive month, according to a Federal
Reserve survey. [ID:nN21531804]
                                
 Additional pressure came from gains in the dollar, weighing
on commodities denominated in the greenback.
                                
 Oil prices have jumped by about a third over the past four
weeks, as signs of a potential economic rebound outweighed weak
demand and high inventories.
                                
 A JP Morgan research note forecast the economy would begin
to turn around in the second half, hiking its price forecasts
in 2009 and 2010. [ID:nSP438666]
                                
 "While it may seem at odds with recent demand data and high
levels of global inventories, we believe the economic outlook
is improving and a second-half recovery, perhaps more vigorous
than even we foresee, is on the cards," the bank said.
                                
 Oil got a lift on Wednesday after weekly U.S. government
inventory data showed a steep drop in crude and gasoline
stockpiles ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, traditionally the
start of the summer driving season. [EIA/S]
                                
 Slumping demand has sent crude tumbling from record highs
near $150 a barrel last July, prompting the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries to agree a series of output cuts
since September.
                                
 A senior Gulf OPEC delegate told Reuters the cartel was
likely to keep output targets steady at its next meeting on May
28. [ID:nLI353927]
                                
 Eleven out of 12 oil analysts and economists surveyed by
Reuters also predicted OPEC would maintain output.
[ID:nLL182940]
 (Reporting by Matthew Robinson, Robert Gibbons and Gene Ramos
in New York; Jane Merriman in London; Editing by David
Gregorio)