By Mark Shenk Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose a third day and gold surged to a record as a weaker U.S. dollar bolstered the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. Oil climbed as much as 1.5 percent as the U.S. currency declined on speculation the Federal Reserve will say that it needs to keep borrowing costs low. Prices also gained on yesterday’s American Petroleum Institute report, which showed that U.S. crude supplies fell 3.28 million barrels last week. “The dollar is under pressure again, which is having an impact on commodities,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy with MF Global in New York. “The Fed can’t raise rates now because the economy is only just now getting off its knees.” Crude oil for December delivery rose 70 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $80.30 a barrel at 9:03 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $80.76, the highest since Oct. 26. Prices are up 80 percent this year. Futures climbed 1.9 percent yesterday after India’s central bank bought 200 metric tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund. The dollar weakened to $1.4793 per euro in New York, from $1.4724 yesterday. The Federal Open Market Committee, which is ending a two- day meeting today, is scheduled to release a statement at around 2:15 p.m. in Washington. “If you look at the pure data we’ve received, these have been positive,” said Tobias Merath, a commodity analyst at Credit Suisse Group in Zurich. “The dollar has been weaker, and sentiment across commodities has improved, so we’re testing the upper end of the $75 to $80 range.” Inventory Report The U.S. Energy Department is scheduled to release its supply report for the week ended Oct. 30 today at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. Analysts forecast that stockpiles increased by 1.5 million barrels, according to the median of 16 responses in a survey conducted by Bloomberg News. Oil-supply totals from the API and Energy Department moved in the same direction 75 percent of the time in the past four years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Today’s report is expected to show that distillate fuel inventories, including heating oil and diesel, probably declined 1 million barrels. Gasoline supplies probably increased 400,000 barrels, the survey showed. Brent crude for December settlement rose 59 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $78.70 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

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