Oil rose for the first time in four days in New York as U.S. crude inventories were forecast to drop, a storm headed for the Gulf of Mexico and a fire continued to burn at Venezuela’s biggest refinery. U.S. crude stockpiles probably fell by 2 million barrels last week, or 0.6 percent, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Department report tomorrow. Tropical Storm Isaac was near hurricane strength as it headed for the Gulf coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. Storage tanks burned for a fourth day at Venezuela’s 645,000 barrel-a-day Amuay plant, where an Aug. 25 gas explosion killed 48 people. Oil also increased before a U.S. Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Aug. 31. “Crude trade will remain jittery this week as storm- related disruptions and refinery and storage tank fires in Venezuela keep investors on edge,� said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London. “On top of that we have expectations of action from central bankers.� Oil for October delivery advanced as much as 87 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $96.34 a barrel and was at $96.10 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:27 a.m. London time. The contract fell 68 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $95.47 yesterday, the lowest close since Aug. 15. Prices are 2.8 percent lower this year. Brent oil for October settlement was at $112.64 a barrel, up 38 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark grade’s premium to WTI was at $16.54, from $16.79 yesterday. U.S. Inventories U.S. crude inventories may fall for a fifth week, the longest run of declines since July 2011, according to the median of 11 analyst estimates before the Energy Department’s report. The decrease would leave inventories at the lowest level since March 23. Gasoline supplies may have fallen 1.4 million barrels, and distillate stockpiles, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, probably rose 400,000 barrels, according to the survey. Gasoline for September delivery advanced as much as 0.5 percent to $3.1714 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange today after climbing 2.5 percent to $3.1548 yesterday, the highest settlement since April 30. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute will publish its supply report later today. Wind Speeds Tropical Storm Isaac is on the “verge� of becoming a hurricane, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained wind speeds remained at 70 miles per hour, the NHC said in a statement on its website at 4:54 a.m. New York time. A tropical storm warning was extended westward to Cameron, Louisiana, the NHC said. About 78 percent of oil production and 48 percent of natural gas output from the Gulf of Mexico has been shut in as Isaac approaches, a Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement report showed yesterday. In Venezuela, firefighters have put out one of the three blazes at the Amuay refinery and extinguished about 75 percent of another, President Hugo Chavez said on his Twitter Inc. account today. There is no structural damage to the processing units at the facility about 240 miles west of Caracas, according to Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez. Venezuela has 4 million barrels of inventories of gasoline and other petroleum products and continues to produce 735,000 barrels of gasoline a day at plants, including nearby Cardon, according to Ramirez. Amuay will be restarted within two days after all the fires have been extinguished, he said. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will speak at the Kansas City Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole on Aug. 31, where he may shed light on the likelihood of a third round of asset purchases. The central bank bought $2.3 trillion of debt since 2008 in two previous rounds of quantitative easing. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net

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