Crude oil futures fell from the highest level in almost two weeks as U.S. stocks declined and the dollar gained against the euro, reducing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. Oil declined as much as 1.3 percent as the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index slipped from its highest level in four months. The greenback gained as much as 0.5 percent against the euro after dropping for four of the past five weeks. “Stocks started to roll over, and you are seeing oil and everything else follow suit,” said Richard Ilczyszyn, a market strategist at Lind-Waldock, a broker in Chicago. “The euro is softening against the dollar and it’s weighing on crude.” Crude for November delivery dropped 86 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $75.63 a barrel at 11:57 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price ranged from $75.52 to $77.17, the highest level since Sept. 14. The dollar gained 0.1 percent against the euro to $1.3475, near a five-month low. The November crude contract rose 2.1 percent last week as the dollar weakened after the Federal Reserve said it may take more steps to ease monetary policy. Brent crude oil for November settlement fell $1.06, or 1.3 percent, to $77.81 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The CRB Index fell 0.4 percent today to 282.38. The Standard and Poor’s index slid 0.4 percent to 1,144.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 percent to 10,827.52. ‘Hard to Get Bullish’ “The dollar and the stock market are the two drivers,” said Kyle Cooper, director of research for IAF Advisors in Houston. “We have tons of inventories and it’s kind of hard to get bullish. Clearly there is not a physical shortage of oil.” Crude supplies rose 970,000 barrels to 358.3 million in the week ended Sept. 17, 13 percent above the five-year average, the Energy Department reported last week. Gasoline inventories gained 1.59 million barrels to 226.1 million, a six-month high. “There is so much supply right now and that seems to be weighing on the oil market,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst with PFGBest in Chicago. Hedge funds and other large investors reduced their bets on higher oil prices in the week ended Sept. 21 after Enbridge Energy Partners LP restarted its 6A oil pipeline, the largest conduit linking Canada and the U.S. Midwest, on Sept. 17. Net-long positions on crude futures and options combined fell 16,286, or 13 percent, to 106,323, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report. To contact the reporter on this story: Moming Zhou in New York at Mzhou29@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net.

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