NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures slipped Wednesday in choppy trading in a cautious market ahead of weekly inventory reports. "The complex drifted lower overnight as it is generally following macroeconomic guidance that has proven volatile through the electronic session," Jim Ritterbusch, president at Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a research note. "The most likely course of today's trade will be for some consolidation within yesterday's range ahead of weekly (U.S. Energy Information Administration) stats that have been delayed until tomorrow," he said. Inventory data from industry group American Petroleum Institute will arrive Wednesday after the close of the New York Mercantile Exchange open-outcry session. A lower finish on Wednesday would be the third straight lower close for U.S. crude futures. While crude ended lower on Tuesday, prices bounced off lows and refined products futures settled higher after an explosion damaged one of Mexico's Pemex refineries. FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude CLV0 fell 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $73.90 a barrel by 9:01 a.m. EDT (1301 GMT), trading from $73.37 to $74.25. * Mexico's state oil company Pemex said on Tuesday it has shut its coker at the Cadereyta oil refinery damaged in an explosion early in the day. [ID:nWNA9138] * Iraq has raised the official selling price of Basra light crude to U.S. buyers for October by 15 cents to $1.15 per barrel below the Argus (ASCI) benchmark, an industry source said on Wednesday. [ID:nWLA2449] * The National Hurricane Center was monitoring one tropical system in the Atlantic on Wednesday which did not show any early signs of entering the Gulf of Mexico. [ID:nN2005] MARKETS NEWS * U.S. stock index futures rose, tracking a turnaround in European stocks as markets awaited of comments from the Federal Reserve on the state of the economy. Investors will eye the U.S. central bank's release of its Beige Book at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), the economic data gathered from its 12 regional banks, providing insight into U.S. economic conditions. [.N] * The yen struck a fresh 15-year high against the dollar and the Swiss franc hit an all-time peak versus the euro as a flare-up in worries over euro zone banks and sovereign debt led investors into safe havens. The dollar index .DXY was stronger, but hovered just above unchanged, and the EUR= was slightly weaker against the dollar. * World stocks were generally weaker amid continued worries over the banking sector remained center stage, but shares in Europe managed a bounce higher as oil majors were lifted by BP (BP.L) after the company released a report on its Gulf of Mexico spill. [MKTS/GLOB] * Gold rose a third day toward a record high as nervousness over the global economy steered investors into perceived safe-haven assets. [GOL/] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * The Federal Reserve issues July consumer credit at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT). Economists in Reuters survey forecast a drop of $3.8 billion following June's decrease of $1.34 billion. * Industry group American Petroleum Institute reports weekly crude oil and petroleum product inventories for the week to Sept. 3 at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT). Analysts in a preliminary survey by Reuters on Tuesday estimated crude stocks to be down 600,000 barrels, gasoline down 900,000 barrels and distillates up 700,000 barrels, with refinery capacity utilization off 0.4 percentage point. 9:01 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 73.90 -0.19 -0.3% 73.37 74.25 53,108 379,300 CLc2 75.62 -0.21 -0.3% 75.10 75.92 26,235 143,855 LCOc1 77.34 -0.40 -0.5% 76.78 77.73 80,484 205,669 RBc1 1.9244 -0.0089 -0.4% 1.9089 1.9328 3,425 45,604 RBc2 1.9245 -0.0082 -0.4% 1.9085 1.9320 2,119 21,325 HOc1 2.0673 -0.0070 -0.3% 2.0541 2.0743 4,159 64,545 HOc2 2.0907 -0.0059 -0.3% 2.0773 2.0967 1,074 19,282 * NYMEX crude oil for October CLc1 fell 19 cents to $73.90 a barrel by 9:01 a.m. in volume of 53,138 lots. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)

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