U.S. crude futures drop $2 on demand, economy

NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures fell $2 on Thursday on demand concerns fueled by disappointing U.S. retail sales that also pressured Wall Street and bearish natural gas data.

The drop followed oil inventory data released Wednesday that showed demand remained curbed and that oil inventories rose more expected last week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:38 p.m. EST (1838 GMT), February crude CLG9 was down $1.33, or 3.12 percent, at $41.30 per barrel, trading from $40.59 to $43.63. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons)