Oil tumbled as much as 5 percent on Thursday, with U.S. crude crashing through technical support to its lowest since February as mounting fears of a stalled economy set off a global race from riskier assets, according to Reuters. European bond buying and Japanese currency intervention fed turmoil across financial markets, while in-line weekly U.S. jobs data failed to quell anxiety about slower economic growth that is undercutting oil demand in the top consumer. U.S. crude turned negative for the year while other commodities were also hammered as investors sought to trim holdings of risky assets with the dollar rising after Japan intervened to curb the yen's rise. The dollar was up 1.29 percent against a basket of currencies.. In London, ICE Brent for September delivery fell $4 to $109.23 a barrel, by 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT) just above the session low of $109.14, the lowest since the June 29 intraday low of $108.10.. U.S. crude for September delivery slid $4.05 to $87.88, after hitting the session low of $87.25, the lowest since the Feb. 22 intraday low of $86.25. Oil prices retreated as two major Wall Street indexes, the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index skidded 3 percent on economic worries ahead of the U.S. jobs report on Friday. Oil prices have slid further after sharply dropping on Wednesday on U.S. inventory data showed a rise in petroleum stocks and a year-on-year decline in gasoline demand. That added to evidence that expensive fuel and a weak economy have reduced consumption in the world's biggest oil user. First-time filings for unemployment benefits in the United States dipped slightly last week, a government report showed, marking a marginal improvement in the labor market. Markets are awaiting Friday's release of U.S. jobs data for July. Forecasters polled by Reuters expected nonfarm payrolls rose 85,000, after rising only 18,000 in June. The unemployment rate was expected to hold steady at 9.2 percent. -- SPA
