Crude fluctuated in a narrow $71.48-$71.96 a barrel range in Asia. The drop was in response to a stronger dollar and a forecast by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that it now expects a near-to-below-normal hurricane season, as the effect of the El Niño weather pattern continues to develop. Benchmark crude for September delivery was down 46 cents to $71.48 a barrel by midday in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, the contract lost 3 cents to settle at $71.94.A much tougher test of the oil market’s resiliency as an asset class will be the release of the monthly employment data,” said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates in Gelana, Illinois.