NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures edged up in choppy trading on Wednesday as the market awaited government inventory data after industry data released late Tuesday showed a surprise drop in crude supplies last week. "Crude and products futures rose slightly on moderate overnight volume as traders await the release of the DOE's weekly petroleum report," Addison Armstrong, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut, said in a note. The American Petroleum Institute data released on Tuesday showed U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly fell by 254,000 barrels in the week to Oct. 2. [API/S] The API said distillate stocks fell by 2.9 million barrels, while gasoline inventories rose 544,000 barrels. A Reuters survey of analysts expected crude supplies to be up 2.2 million barrels, with distillate supplies up 300,000 barrels and gasoline up 1.0 million barrels. [EIA/S] The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Department of Energy's statistical arm. will release its inventory report on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT). The U.S. dollar rebounded from its lowest level against the yen in more than eight months as traders bought back the greenback after the pair failed to break key technical levels. The dollar was up versus the euro and a basket of currencies. [USD/] Gold hit another record high on Wednesday, before falling back a bit, as the dollar stabilized and global stocks remained flat, weighed by losses in Europe. [MKTS/GLOB] Wall Street was mixed in early trading. [.N] PRICES * On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:40 a.m. EDT (1340 GMT), November crude CLX9 was up 27 cents, or 0.38 percent, at $71.15 a barrel, trading from $70.62 to $71.76. * In London, November Brent crude LCOX9 rose 35 cents, or 0.51 percent, to $68.91 a barrel, trading from $68.48 to $69.45. * NYMEX November RBOB RBX9 rose 0.93 cents, or 0.52 percent to $1.7820 a gallon, trading from $1.7710 to $1.7930. * NYMEX November heating oil HOX9 rose 1.48 cents, or 0.82 percent, to $1.8290 a gallon, trading from $1.8150 to $1.84. * The November/November RBOB crack spread <0#RB-CL=R> was at $3.79, after ending at $3.57 on Tuesday. The November/November heating oil crack spread <0#CL-HO=R> was at $5.68, after ending at $5.31 on Tuesday. * The spread between the current front month and the five-year forward crude contract CLc61 was at $12.76, based on the November 2014 contract Tuesday settlement at $83.91. The spread ended Tuesday at $13.03. TECHNICALS NYMEX crude 10-day/20-day moving average: $68.93/$69.88 Technical support/resistance: NYMEX crude: $68.05/$73.50 NYMEX heating oil: $1.7790/$1.8766 NYMEX RBOB: $1.7326/$1.8356 For a full report on technicals, click on [ID:nL7619387] MARKET NEWS * Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N) said a small fire at the west plant of its refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, shut a hydrocracking unit. [ID:nN07146708] * Nigeria's oil output has risen to 1.6 million barrels per day due to the decline in violence. [ID:nL7314038] * Tropical Storm Henri not expected to become a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said. [ID:nN07459909] * Copper slipped as Chinese holidays limited trading activity and on concerns about demand.

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