* Oil barely budgets after steady US Jobless claims * US consumer spending up in November * EIA data shows sharp crude stocks drop, supports oil * Coming up: EIA natgas data, 10:30 a.m. EST Thursday NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices were unchanged on Thursday after data from the U.S government showed national jobless claims fell only slightly last week and consumer spending rose for a fifth straight month in November. U.S. initial jobless in the week to Dec. 18 were 420,000, down slightly from 423,000 the previous week, the U.S Department of Labor said on Thursday. Although this matched estimates from a Reuters poll of analysts, the slight change from previous week cast doubts on the pace of the labor market growth. [ID:nN22114572] U.S. consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in November, slightly less than expected, after increasing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in October, according to data from the Commerce Department. [ID:nN2297805] U.S crude settled at the highest level since October 2008 on Wednesday, supported largely by a third straight weekly drop in crude oil inventories and a cold spell on both sides of the Atlantic. U.S. crude oil inventories fell 5.33 million barrels in the week to Dec. 17, compared to expectation for a 2.3 million barrels drop, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. [EIA/S] Gasoline stocks rose 2.4 million barrels, a lot higher than analysts' expectations for a 1.4 million barrels build. Distillate stockpiles fell 589,000 barrels, lower than estimates for 700,000 less barrels, the EIA said. FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February crude CLG1 rose 10 cents, or 0.11 percent, to $90.58 a barrel, at 14:08 GMT. * Wednesday's session trading range was from $89.85 to $90.80. That intraday peak eclipsed the $90.76 high from Dec. 7, and was the highest since front-month crude prices hit $90.99 on Oct. 8, 2008. MARKETS NEWS * The dollar held losses against the yen and remained higher versus the Euro on Thursday after the release of U.S. durable goods, jobless claims and personal consumption data. [USD/] * U.S. stock index futures ticked lower on Thursday after the government data was released. .N UPCOMING DATA * U.S. Energy Information Administration natural gas storage data at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) on Thursday, forecast to be down 179 billion cubic feet. [ID:nN2258173] * NYMEX energy open outcry floor trading to shut one hour early on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT). CME Globex electronic trading will shut at normal 5:15 p.m. EST (2215 GMT). [ID:nN22294990] 9:13 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 90.58 0.09 0.1% 90.33 90.79 25,999 187,321 CLc2 91.25 0.04 0.0% 91.01 91.49 7,047 59,526 LCOc1 93.77 0.12 0.1% 93.28 93.91 39,825 109,913 RBc1 2.4211 -0.0034 -0.1% 2.4150 2.4285 667 27,194 RBc2 2.4038 -0.0031 -0.1% 2.3990 2.4113 1,809 34,597 HOc1 2.5292 0.0007 0.0% 2.5235 2.5348 1,412 29,076 HOc2 2.5405 0.0003 0.0% 2.5340 2.5445 2,723 33,364 * NYMEX crude oil for February CLc1 rose 9 cents to $90.57 a barrel by 9:13 a.m. in volume of 26,014 lots. (Reporting by Selam Gebrekidan; Editing by Alden Bentley)

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