UPDATE 4-Oil slips as demand worries linger

                                
 * China Q2 GDP growth 7.9 pct year-on-year
                                
 * U.S. new jobless claims lowest since Jan.
                                
 * JPMorgan reports 36 percent rise in quarterly profit
                                
 (Recasts, updates prices, market activity)
                                
 By David Sheppard
                                
 LONDON, July 16 (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 <CLc1> fell 9 cents to
$61.45 a barrel by 1600 GMT after hitting a low of $60.29 a
barrel. London Brent crude <LCOc1> slipped 29 cents to $62.80
ahead of the August contract's expiry later on Thursday.
                                
 Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global in New York,
said the market was trying to decide how high oil prices can
rise given the still fragile economy.
                                
 "$60 is the fulcrum balancing the price lever that tips
whenever one contention or another is bolstered by news or
economic data," Fitzpatrick said.
                                
 China, the world's second largest energy consumer, saw
surprisingly strong growth of 7.9 percent in the second
quarter, fuelled by state spending and bank lending, making it
the best-performing major economy in the world. [ID:nSP537580]
                                
 But doubts about the pace of recovery in other major energy
consuming economies have kept a lid on prices, with investors
turning cautious as every piece of encouraging economic news
appears to be offset by signs there is still a long way to go.
                                
 The global slowdown has cut world oil demand by as much as
2.5 million barrels per day, according to the International
Energy Agency.
                                
 New jobless claims in the United States, the world's
largest energy consumer, fell to their lowest level since
January on Thursday, but the Labor Department was keen to
emphasise an unusual pattern in automotive layoffs had
amplified the drop. [ID:nN16256518]
                                
 JPMorgan and Chase & Co <JPM.M> 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.
[ID:nN16338928]
                                
 Also highlighting the ongoing problems facing the world
economy is the looming bankruptcy of CIT Group Inc <CIT.N>, a
lender to hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized U.S.
businesses, after bailout talks with the U.S. government fell
apart. [ID:nN15377230]
                                
 Oil had gained sharply on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) said commercial crude oil
stocks fell 2.8 million barrels last week, against market
expectations of a 1.6 million barrel fall. [EIA/S]
                                
 The fall in crude stocks overshadowed a
larger-than-expected rise in U.S. gasoline supplies over the
Fourth of July Independence Day holiday weekend -- the
traditional peak of the U.S. summer driving season.
                                
 (Additional reporting by Fayen Wong in Perth and Richard
Valdmanis in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)