By Grant Smith March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traded little changed before a U.S. government report forecast to show that crude inventories increased while gasoline stockpiles fell. The Energy Department report tomorrow may show that U.S. inventories of gasoline dropped 2 million barrels last week, and that crude supplies rose 2.5 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg survey. Employers in the world’s biggest energy consumer probably added jobs this month for the second time in more than two years, according to economists surveyed before an April 2 report. “We see a gradual tightening of the market, and I think that will continue with the improvement in the global economy,” said Thina Saltvedt, a commodities analyst at Nordea Bank AB in Oslo. “Gasoline stocks are coming back down to normal levels, which will be interesting as we get into the driving season.” Crude for May delivery was at $82.18 a barrel, 1 cent higher on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 11:25 a.m. London time. Brent crude for May settlement was 5 cents lower at $81.12 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices in New York pared earlier gains of as much as 0.7 percent as the dollar recovered versus the euro, dimming the appeal of commodities for hedging against inflation. The Energy Department will release its weekly report tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. Stockpiles of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, fell 1.25 million barrels, a Bloomberg survey of analysts showed. API Report The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute will release its own inventory report today. The API collects stockpile data on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. U.S. payrolls probably rose by 190,000, the most in three years, after declining 36,000 in February, according to the median forecast of 62 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the Labor Department’s April 2 report. “A lot of the overall market is going to depend on the U.S.,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at U.S. energy consultants Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. “How the unemployment situation gets resolved in the U.S. will dictate the gasoline demand in the summer, which will also help refining margins in Asia.” To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.netGrant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net

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