Crude oil futures extended gains after a U.S. government report showed a decline in supplies of gasoline and distillate fuels. Gasoline inventories fell 2.69 million barrels to 212.3 million in the week ended Oct. 29, the Energy Department said today in a weekly report. Stockpiles were forecast to be little changed from the previous week’s total of 214.9 million barrels, according to the median of 17 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Distillate supplies, which include heating oil and diesel, decreased 3.57 million barrels to 164.9 million. Stockpiles were forecast to drop by 1 million barrels. Inventories of crude oil rose 1.95 million barrels to 368.2 million, the department said. Supplies were forecast to climb by 1.5 million barrels. Crude oil for December delivery advanced 98 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $84.88 a barrel at 10:35 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $84.77 a barrel before the release of the report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. Crude oil also rose on projections that stimulus measures being discussed by the Federal Reserve will weaken the dollar, bolstering the appeal of commodities to investors. The Fed may announce a plan to purchase at least $500 billion in securities under a policy called quantitative easing, according to 29 of 56 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Subdued Inflation Policy makers are scheduled to release a statement at around 2:15 p.m. in which they may reiterate the view from their September release that “inflation is likely to remain subdued for some time,” said former Fed governor Lyle Gramley, now senior adviser at Potomac Research Group in Washington. The dollar has dropped 9 percent versus the euro since Aug. 27, when Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank “will do all that it can” to sustain economic growth, fueling speculation that a resumption of asset purchases would debase the U.S. currency. Companies in the U.S. boosted payrolls by more than forecast in October, data from a private report showed today. Employment increased by 43,000 after a revised 2,000 drop in September, according to figures from ADP Employer Services. The median estimate of 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 20,000 gain. 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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