Gasoline fell as U.S. first-time jobless claims climbed last week, indicating fuel demand may decline as the economy struggles to recover. Gasoline fell after the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose by 13,000 to 462,000 in the week ended Oct. 9. Futures rose 2 percent yesterday on a weaker dollar and as French strikes threatened to reduce U.S. imports. “The equity market turned south after the initial jobless claims, and the underlying feature of the market is the fundamentals remain pretty weak,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. Gasoline for November delivery dropped 1.26 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $2.1535 in midmorning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Energy Department report on last week’s inventories is scheduled to be released at 11 a.m. in Washington. Stockpiles of the motor fuel probably fell 1.5 million barrels last week, according to the median estimate of 19 analysts in a survey by Bloomberg News. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute late yesterday reported a 1.88 million-barrel drop in U.S. gasoline supplies. The premium of gasoline over crude oil, or the crack spread, based on November contracts, narrowed 50 cents to $7.47 a barrel. Heating oil for November delivery slipped 0.41 cent to $2.2966 a gallon. The heating oil crack spread lost 18 cents to $13.44 a barrel. Supplies of distillates, including heating oil and diesel, probably fell 1.15 million barrels last week, according to the survey. Regular gasoline at the pump, averaged nationwide, rose 0.8 cent to $2.828 a gallon yesterday, AAA said on its website.

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