SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil prices hovered around their lowest levels in five weeks Thursday due to a stronger dollar and persisting worries over the U.S. economy. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $91.86 a barrel at 0728 GMT, down $0.07 in the Globex electronic session. September Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.20 to $113.43 a barrel. Crude climbed to an intraday high of $92.59 a barrel early in the session, before turning negative when Japanese authorities intervened in foreign exchange markets. The government plunged into the market at 0100 GMT via the Bank of Japan to curb speculative, excessive yen moves. Separately, the Japanese central bank abruptly shortened its policy meeting, announcing it would now be limited to a single day and would wrap up Thursday afternoon. That has stoked speculation the central bank will announce policy-easing measures aimed at further diluting the yen. "The U.S. dollar is getting stronger against the yen and the euro after the intervention...that is one of that factors driving oil down," Tokyo-based Newedge Japan commodity and derivatives sales manager Ken Hasegawa said. Analysts expect Nymex crude contract to test the psychological level of $90 a barrel soon, as recent data indicate the possibility economic recovery in the U.S. is stalling. Both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors grew at a slower-than-expected pace last month, indicating a strong recovery in the third quarter is unlikely. "Sentiment is still very bearish as the economic situations in Europe and the U.S. are weak," Mizuho Securities head of commodity derivatives customer development Takumi Otsuka said. "We'll focus on U.S. economic data later this week." The U.S. is scheduled to release weekly jobless claims figures later Thursday and monthly nonfarm payrolls Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect jobless claims to have risen by 7,000 and payrolls by 75,000, while forecasting the July unemployment rate to have stayed at 9.2%. "If those results are more bearish than thought, the Nymex may fall to $85," said Hasegawa. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for September--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 83 points to $2.9230 a gallon, while September heating oil traded at $3.0249, 60 points higher. ICE gasoil for August changed hands at $950.25 a metric ton, down $4.00 from Wednesday's settlement. -By Max Lin, Dow Jones Newswires; 65-6415-4063; max.lin@dowjones.com

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