By Robert Tuttle March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Oil declined in New York for the fourth time in five days before a U.S. government report that may show stockpiles of the fuel increased to their highest level in more than three months. Futures slid as much as 0.6 percent before an Energy Department report today that may show inventories rose by 1.5 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg survey. The industry- funded American Petroleum Institute said yesterday stockpiles climbed 5.7 million barrels, advancing for the fourth week. A separate report showed confidence among U.S. consumers fell more than forecast in March as fuel costs surged. “The crude stocks built by close to 6 million barrels, which is more than expected,” said Christopher Bellew, senior broker at Bache Commodities Ltd. in London. “It could be that refineries are undergoing maintenance so stocks are building.” Crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as much as 66 cents to $104.13 a barrel and was at $104.30 at 12:39 p.m. London time. Yesterday, the contract rose 81 cents to settle at $104.79. Prices are 14 percent higher for the quarter and 7.6 percent for the month. Brent crude for May settlement fell 45 cents to $114.71 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Yesterday, the contract gained 36 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $115.16. The European benchmark traded at a $10.41 premium over U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures. The difference between front- month contracts in London and New York surged to a record $19.54 on Feb. 21 as unrest spread in the Middle East and North Africa and stockpiles climbed at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI. The gap averaged 76 cents last year. U.S. Supplies U.S. oil supplies probably climbed to the highest level since December, according to the median estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News before today’s government report. Gasoline stockpiles may have declined 2 million barrels, the survey shows. About 2.6 million barrels a day of refining capacity was offline in North America this month, the most since May 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Refiners often shut units in spring to carry out maintenance on plants. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to a three-month low of 63.4 from a revised 72 reading in February, figures from the New York-based private research group showed yesterday. The median forecast of 69 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a drop to 65. Libyan Violence Oil in New York rose yesterday as troops loyal to Muammar Qaddafi dug in to block rebels advancing on his hometown of Sirte. Prices have climbed 23 percent since anti-government protests began Feb. 15 in Libya, cutting output in Africa’s third-largest producer by two-thirds. Qatar, the first Arab nation to send jets to join a coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya, said it offered to facilitate oil sales from rebel-held parts of the country and use the proceeds for humanitarian aid, according to a release posted on its foreign ministry website yesterday. Deutsche Bank raised its 2011 Brent crude forecast by 16 percent to $117.50, according to an e-mailed report today by analysts including Michael Lewis and Soozhana Choi. Prices are reflecting a risk premium of $10 to $15 a barrel amid declining spare capacity in Saudi Arabia and unrest in the Middle East, according to the bank. Consumers may pay the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries about $1.2 trillion this year, according to Bloomberg calculations based on group’s output last month of 29.1 million barrels a day and the latest OPEC basket price of $109.87 a barrel. OPEC’s net export revenue will be lower because it uses some oil domestically. --With assistance from Ben Sharples in Melbourne and Ann Koh in Singapore. Editors: John Buckley, Raj Rajendran To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Tuttle in Doha at rtuttle@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net

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