By Christopher Johnson LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices slipped towards$74 per barrel on Monday as the end of the U.S. driving seasonand high levels of unemployment in the world's biggest oilconsumer raised concerns over the outlook for demand. The U.S. Labor Day holiday, which marks the traditional endof American summer holidays when gasoline demand peaks, keptvolume low in many markets. The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), home to benchmarkU.S. crude futures also known as West Texas Intermediate or WTI,will combine trades from Sunday, Monday and Tuesday into onetrading session, with a single settlement at Tuesday's close. U.S. crude for October delivery was down 20 cents at $74.40a barrel by 0912 GMT, while ICE Brent crude had gained 38 centsto $77.05. "The U.S. (oil futures) complex is coming under considerablepressure from the end of the driving season and the highinventory levels, while bearish employment data continues toundermine hopes of economic recovery," said David Wech, head ofenergy studies at JBC Energy in Vienna. "I don't see any immediate signs of an upside. All thefundamental factors look very weak," Wech added. While U.S. gasoline demand accounts for more than 10 percentof the world's oil use, U.S. refiners are set to cut the amountof crude they process in coming weeks as they enter autumnmaintenance, in preparation to crank up output of winter fuels. Front-month U.S. crude has traded between $64.24 and $87.15this year, posting its high in early May and the low later thatmonth as the European credit crisis rattled markets. Prices have mostly stayed between $70 and $80, a range thatOPEC producers say is high enough to foster investment incapacity expansion and low enough to sustain economic recovery. DEMAND EXPECTATIONS Asian equities touched one-month highs on Monday but oilinvestors shrugged off the rally, focusing instead on a reporton Friday showing U.S. employment dropped less than expected. The correlation between oil and equities has fallen in thelast two sessions as the fundamentals of an oversupplied oilmarket weigh on sentiment. correlation, click: http://link.reuters.com/cyz59n For a graphic of the performance of a range of commoditiesso far this year, click: http://r.reuters.com/hun72k ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Equities markets have focused on hopes for economic growthand supported oil in recent months despite a build in U.S. oilinventories for record levels. U.S. petroleum stockpiles are attheir highest level since weekly figures were collated in 1990. Saudi Arabia raised its official selling prices (OSPs) forbenchmark Arab Light and other grades to customers in Asia, theU.S. and Europe in October, state oil company Saudi Aramco saidon Sunday. But many investors are pessimistic on the short-termoutlook. Money managers cut net-long positions in crude oil onthe NYMEX for a fourth consecutive week, an indication thatinvestors are decreasing bets that prices will rise. (Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; editing by KeironHenderson)

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