* Dollar index slides to 3-yr low, supports commodities * Libya, Middle East unrest remain supportive to oil * Coming up: EIA natural gas storage data, 10:30 a.m. EDT NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edged up in choppy trading on Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar after the previous day's inventory report showed falling crude and refined products stocks in the United States. Strong equities markets buoyed by positive earnings added to the bullish sentiment ahead of the Easter holiday weekend. U.S. crude oil inventories fell 2.3 million barrels last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly report. Gasoline stocks fell 1.58 million barrels and distillate inventories fell 2.5 million barrels, the EIA said. Refinery capacity utilization rose 1.1 percentage points to 82.5 percent, though that remained 3.4 percentage points below the year-ago levels. FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude CLM1 rose 49 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $111.94 a barrel by 8:19 a.m. EDT (1219 GMT), trading from $111.29 to $112.48. * Libyan government troops pounded rebel-held Misrata overnight, undeterred by Western threats to step up military action against Muammar Gaddafi's forces. [ID:nLDE73J23Z] * A new version of a Gulf Arab proposal to end Yemen's political crisis called for a three month transition plan that would end with a presidential election, a senior Yemeni official told Reuters. [ID:nLDE73K11F] * The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Wednesday it will issue its long-awaited swaps definition proposal next week, the last of its major rules from the recent financial reform legislation to be introduced. [ID:nN20192084] MARKETS NEWS * The dollar hit a three-year low against a basket of currencies as strong corporate earnings buoyed risk appetite in illiquid pre-Easter trade, threatening to drive the greenback to historic lows. [USD/] * Gold shot to a record high on rising oil prices and the dollar's fall. Silver fetched its highest price since 1980. [GOL/] * World stocks rose on upbeat earnings. The dollar plumbed a 3-year low. [MKTS/GLOB] [FRX/] * Copper jumped to its highest in more than a week as investors focused on supply tightness after miner Anglo American Plc (AAL.L) (AGLJ.J) showed a sharp production fall and the dollar weakened. [MET/L] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * U.S. Labor Department releases first-time claims for jobless benefits for week ended April 16. Economists surveyed by Reuters forecast 392,000 new filings versus 412,000 in the prior week. * U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly natural gas storage data, 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT), Thursday. 8:19 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 111.94 0.49 0.4% 111.29 112.48 39,415 37,088 CLc2 112.40 0.49 0.4% 111.78 112.95 10,430 324,778 LCOc1 124.00 0.15 0.1% 123.67 124.81 49,343 168,571 RBc1 3.2864 0.0091 0.3% 3.2730 3.2991 2,500 36,370 RBc2 3.2611 0.0127 0.4% 3.2445 3.2733 4,534 45,054 HOc1 3.2109 -0.0105 -0.3% 3.2095 3.2368 2,196 41,191 HOc2 3.2269 -0.0090 -0.3% 3.2243 3.2539 3,769 51,114 * NYMEX crude oil for June CLc1 rose 49 cents to $111.94 a barrel by 8:19 a.m. in volume of 39,415 lots. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)

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