By Grant Smith Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traded little changed before a government report that’s forecast to show U.S. crude inventories increased. An Energy Department report today will probably show crude stockpiles gained 600,000 barrels, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said, compared with the 1.52 million-barrel decline posted by the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute yesterday. API data have moved in step with official figures 76 percent of the time in the past four years, Bloomberg data show. “The economy is only bottoming out and the recovery to pre-recession activity levels will take time,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, senior oil market analyst at BNP Paribas SA in London. “With more inventory builds, prices could stand to correct from recent gains.” Crude oil for September delivery traded for $71.65 a barrel, 23 cents higher in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as of 1:01 p.m. London time. Yesterday, oil dropped 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to settle at $71.42 a barrel. Oil has fallen 0.4 percent from its close on Aug. 3, when it reached $71.58 a barrel, the highest settlement since June 12. The U.K.’s Financial Services Authority will hold discussions with oil traders and producers in London today on the impact of speculation in the energy market. The meeting follows a U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission hearing on whether to put limits on oil trades, something the FSA doesn’t do. Gasoline Inventories Brent crude oil for September settlement was at $74.31 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe Exchange at 12:40 p.m. in London. The contract is trading about $2.90 above its equivalent in New York. The Energy Department is scheduled to release its report on crude stockpiles for the week ended July 31 at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. U.S. gasoline inventories increased 2.1 million barrels to 215.7 million in the week ended July 31, the API report showed. The API collects stockpile information on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. “I would zero in on the increased gasoline inventories in the API report that points to continuing weak product demand,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at consultant Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. To contact the reporters on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net

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