Crude oil rose before a report forecast to show U.S. inventories dropped for a third week and as the dollar fell, spurring investor demand for commodities. The Energy Department will probably say that supplies slipped 1.75 million barrels, according to the median of 18 analyst responses in a Bloomberg News survey. The Dollar Index, a gauge of the currency versus six major trading partners, slid to the lowest level since March 17. “It makes sense that prices are heading higher this morning because today’s report is expected to show a sizable draw in crude-oil stocks,” said Jason Schenker, the president of Prestige Economics LLC, an Austin, Texas-based energy consultant. Crude oil for November delivery rose 94 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $75.91 a barrel at 9:02 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures are up 6 percent from a year ago. Brent crude oil for November settlement gained 37 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $78.79 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The Dollar Index slipped 0.7 percent to 79.844. The U.S. currency traded at $1.3374 per euro, down 0.8 percent from yesterday, after touching $1.3418 per euro, the lowest level since April 17. Gasoline inventories fell 250,000 barrels from 224.5 million, according to the Bloomberg News survey. Stockpiles of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, climbed 100,000 barrels from 174.5 million. The department is scheduled to release its weekly report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. API Supply Report The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported yesterday that crude inventories grew by 2.23 million barrels to 364.1 million. Oil-supply totals from the API and DOE have moved in the same direction 75 percent of the time in the past four years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. U.S. gasoline demand rebounded from a 23-month low last week, MasterCard Inc. reported yesterday. Motorists bought an average 9.01 million barrels a day of the motor fuel, up 1.9 percent from the prior week, according to the weekly SpendingPulse report. It was the first increase in five weeks. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net

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