NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices edged up on Wednesday, supported by the weak dollar and positive data on China's manufacturing sector ahead of government inventory data. Also supportive to oil prices was a late-Tuesday report from the industry group American Petroleum Institute that said U.S. crude oil stocks fell 2.4 million barrels. [API/S] But the API also said gasoline stocks rose 3.0 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell 2.8 million barrels. Ahead of weekly reports, total distillate stocks were expected to have risen 400,000 barrels in the week to Sept. 24, with gasoline stocks up 500,000 barrels, a Reuters analyst survey showed. Crude oil stockpiles were forecast to have fallen only 300,000 barrels on lower imports as seasonal refinery maintenance slowed demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's inventory report is due at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday. FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November crude CLX0 rose 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $76.45 a barrel at 8:27 a.m. EDT (1227 GMT), trading from $76.10 to $76.93. * Mexico closed its Dos Bocas oil shipping port on the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday due to bad weather. The Cayo Arcas oil terminal was closed earlier on Tuesday. [ID:nMEX003861] * HSBC's China Purchasing Managers' Index rose to a five-month high in September. [ID:nTOE68S046] * The U.S. National Hurricane Center on Wednesday said a tropical wave in the Central Atlantic had a 10 percent chance of strengthening into a tropical depression over the next 48 hours. The NHC continued to track Tropical Depression 16 as it moved north toward South Florida. [ID:nN29243852] * Oil may rise above $80 a barrel if global growth is 3-3.5 percent, though sharp rises are not expected this year or next due to excess capacity, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. [ID:nLDE68S14O] * Iran's OPEC governor said he saw oil prices reaching $80 per barrel by the start of winter, semi-official news agency ILNA reported on Wednesday. [ID:nLDE68S0VL] MARKETS NEWS * The dollar fell as sliding U.S. Treasury yields and below-forecast U.S. data fueled expectations of further monetary easing. Mounting speculation the Federal Reserve could embark on a second round of quantitative easing, which would be negative for the dollar, drove the greenback to a five-month low against the euro. [USD/] * European stocks slipped amid worries over the banking sector and governmental debt. [MKTS/GLOB] * Gold again rallied to a record high in Europe on widespread expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve would keep an easy monetary stance. [GOL/] UPCOMING EVENTS/DATA * U.S. Energy Information Administration's oil inventory report at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday. 8:27 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 76.45 0.27 0.4% 76.10 76.93 25,547 289,641 CLc2 77.66 0.25 0.3% 77.36 78.20 8,414 143,126 LCOc1 78.93 0.22 0.3% 78.67 79.59 42,937 175,700 RBc1 1.9505 0.0026 0.1% 1.9455 1.9605 488 26,255 RBc2 1.9398 0.0026 0.1% 1.9328 1.9574 2,335 38,507 HOc1 2.1335 0.0090 0.4% 2.1260 2.1458 532 21,832 HOc2 2.1477 0.0067 0.3% 2.1431 2.1650 2,154 45,400 * NYMEX crude oil for November CLc1 rose 27 cents to $76.45 a barrel by 8:27 a.m. in volume of 25,549 lots.

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