RTRS: US crude up $2, Brent $3 after briefly paring rise
NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Brent and U.S. crude futures pushed higher on Thursday after briefly paring gains on a government report showing initial jobless claims fell last week in the United States, but from a revised higher level the previous week.
Oil prices had already jumped a few minutes before the jobless claims data after a supportive report from industry on private sector hiring in June.
ICE Brent August crude LCOQ1 was up $3 at $116.62 a barrel at 8:55 a.m. EDT (1255 GMT), trading from $113.75 to $116.70.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August crude CLQ1 was up $2.20 at $98.85 a barrel, trading from $96.99 to $99.05. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons)
