FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures traded slightly higher on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar fell against its major rivals ahead of U.S. gross domestic product data, boosting the appeal of dollar-denominated commodities. Crude oil for December delivery gained 25 cents to $77.71 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. The contract earlier rose to an intraday high of $77.87. Crude futures fell 2.6% on Wednesday, pressured by an unexpected increase in U.S. gasoline inventories. Government data showed that crude inventories rose by 800,000 barrels in the latest week, while U.S. gasoline stockpiles increased by 1.6 million barrels. "We may get one more one leg lower in commodities, particularly if the U.S. GDP figures surprise to the upside, as we suspect they might," wrote analysts at MF Global in a note to clients. "This scenario will surely boost the dollar yet again, and perhaps exert more downward pressure on the various markets, as it will likely convey the message that the Fed's 'countdown' towards tighter money and higher rates may soon begin," they said. The dollar edged down against major rivals ahead of Thursday's eagerly awaited U.S. gross domestic product report, which is expected to show the U.S. economy returned to growth in the third-quarter. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. ING is forecasting a 3.5% annualized increase from the previous quarter. The dollar index (DXY 76.26, -0.16, -0.21%) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, fell 0.2% to 76.264. The Energy Information Administration will report natural-gas in storage data on Thursday. Analysts polled by Platts expect an addition of between 27 and 31 billion cubic feet to natural-gas storage inventories for the week ended Oct. 23.

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