By Yee Kai Pin and Ben Sharples Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Oil fell in New York after an industry report showed crude and gasoline stockpiles in the U.S. increased last week, boosting speculation that fuel demand may be slow to recover in the largest energy-consuming country. Oil declined after the American Petroleum Institute said crude inventories rose to the highest since October last year and gasoline supplies reached the highest since March 1999. An Energy Department report due Feb. 12 may also show stockpiles increased, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. “The magnitude of the build shown in the API report is large,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at consultants Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. “The overall market is still on the bearish side. We are likely to be hovering in the low $70s.” Crude oil for March delivery dropped as much as 55 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $73.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $73.28 at 1:25 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract rose 2.6 percent, the most in a week, to settle at $73.75. Futures have lost more than 7 percent this year. U.S. crude stockpiles gained 7.2 million barrels to 337.6 million in the week to Feb. 5, according to the API. Gasoline supplies rebounded 1.6 million barrels to 228.8 million. “There is plenty of oil out there,” said Peter McGuire, a managing director at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney. “There is no shortage of supply and demand is relatively weak.” Winter Storms The Energy Department’s weekly report may show U.S. crude inventories rising by 1.5 million barrels and gasoline by 300,000 barrels, based on the median of analysts’ estimates. The Washington-based department will delay its report by two days because of severe winter weather. A new storm, which follows a weekend blizzard that shut the federal government, may drop as much as 20 inches (51 centimeters) of snow on the East Coast. It will be accompanied by winds gusting from 35 to 55 miles per hour (56 to 88 kilometers per hour), forecasters said. Heating oil for March delivery in New York climbed 2.8 percent yesterday to settle at $1.9373 a gallon. The contract was at $1.9264, down 1.09 cents, at 12:23 p.m. Singapore time. Oil rose yesterday after the dollar fell the most since November against the euro on speculation the European Union will consider a bailout of Greece. The country is facing a debt crisis that has roiled bond markets in the euro region’s southern fringe and caused a slump in global equities. Investment Appeal The dollar recouped some of yesterday’s losses, damping the investment appeal of commodities. The U.S. currency rose to $1.3745 per euro at 1:20 p.m. in Singapore, after dropping 1.1 percent to $1.3797 in New York. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s testimony to Congress on the withdrawal of stimulus programs will be released today. “We do have some bearish factors on the financial front and that has kept pricing below $75,” said Shum at Purvin & Gertz. Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the largest oil exporter, will supply full volumes of crude to Asian refiners in March. The company, known as Saudi Aramco, will ship all cargoes pledged under long-term contracts, according to refinery officials in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Brent crude oil for March settlement fell as much as 64 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $71.49 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $71.59 at 1:18 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract rose 2.9 percent, the most in five days, to end the session at $72.13. To contact the reporters on this story: Yee Kai Pin in Singapore at kyee13@bloomberg.net; Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net

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