NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude futures rose above $90 a barrel on Wednesday, flirting with two-year highs after an industry group reported large declines in weekly U.S. oil stockpiles. Light, sweet crude for February delivery recently traded 56 cents, or 0.6%, higher at $90.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 50 cents higher at $93.70 a barrel. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, on Tuesday reported U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 5.8 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 17. The decline was much larger than analysts had expected, and traders are now awaiting key data from the Department of Energy, due at 10:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, to confirm the drop. According to the mean of forecasts by 12 analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, crude oil stocks are expected to fall by 2.3 million barrels. Gasoline stocks are seen rising 900,000 barrels and stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, are expected to fall by 600,000 barrels. "It's just one more reason for prices to edge on higher," said Matt Smith, an oil analyst with Summit Energy. "We're seeing equities pushing higher, and now we're getting a weaker dollar, which is supportive for crude. And in the background, emerging markets continue to show strength." Crude futures have traded just under $90 a barrel for most of December, briefly pushing to a fresh two-year high of $90.76 on Dec. 7. For several months, a weakening dollar, improving equities markets and record demand levels in China have combined to give oil prices a boost, pulling futures up from near $70 a barrel in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 4.8% this month and has gained more than 15% since August, a sign to crude traders that the economy is recovering. The euro was recently up 0.15% to $1.3121. A weak dollar makes crude cheaper for buyers in other currencies. Thin trading ahead of the Christmas and New Year's holidays has exacerbated some price swings, and a sizable change in U.S. stockpiles could result in a larger-than-usual move in oil prices. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy grew slightly more than previously thought in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Gross domestic product rose at a seasonally-adjusted rate of 2.6% during the period between July and September, higher than an earlier estimate of 2.5%. The revised GDP number was lower than the 2.9% economists had estimated, however. A report on December durable-goods orders is scheduled for release on Thursday. Front-month January reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, recently traded 2.40 cents, or 1%, higher at $2.4225 a gallon. January heating oil recently traded 1.07 cents higher at $2.5271 a gallon. -By Jerry A. DiColo, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2155; jerry.dicolo@dowjones.com.

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