U.S. crude futures drop $1 on economic caution

NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell $1 on Thursday amid caution about the economy and fuel demand.

Sources noted selling above $80 a barrel to book profits, along with caution ahead of much anticipated U.S. October employment data set for release on Friday and early dollar strength on Thursday that also pressured oil.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:11 p.m. EST (1711 GMT), December crude CLZ9 was down $1, or 1.24 percent, at $79.40 a barrel, trading from $79.34 to $80.52. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons)