Crude oil increased in New York after an industry report showed that U.S. inventories declined for the first time this year. Oil rose as much as 1 percent after the American Petroleum Institute said late yesterday that supplies slipped 558,000 barrels to 346 million barrels last week. An Energy Department report today will show stockpiles advanced 2 million barrels, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. “We’re waiting on today’s Energy Department numbers, which don’t necessarily track the API,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. Crude oil for March delivery rose 33 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $87.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 18 percent from a year ago. Brent crude oil for March settlement climbed 51 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $100.43 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Gasoline supplies increased 3.21 million barrels to 239.7 million, the API said. Inventories of the fuel probably increased 2.6 million barrels from 236.2 million a week earlier, according to the median of 16 analyst estimates before the government report today. The projected advance would leave stockpiles at the highest level since Feb. 26, 1993. Supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, dropped 538,000 barrels to 160.7 million, the industry group reported. Inventories probably slipped 1 million barrels from 164.1 million, the survey showed. The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. Oil-supply totals from the API and DOE have moved in the same direction 75 percent of the time in the past four years. To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net.

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