Crude oil was little changed in New York near a record as investors purchased commodities on expectations rising demand in China and India will make up for slowing growth in the U.S.

China, India, Russia and the Middle East for the first time will consume more crude oil than the U.S. this year, according to the International Energy Agency in Paris. Russian oil output has peaked and is set to fall in the coming years, said an owner of BP Plc's venture TNK-BP. Oil surged to $119.90 a barrel yesterday after the dollar reached $1.6019 to the euro.

``Crude rose primarily on the movement in the dollar and the strong demand in China and that's inevitably pushed us toward $120,'' said Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. ``The issue of non-OPEC supply failing to meet expectations has been around and supports strong pricing versus last year.''

Crude oil for June delivery was at $117.92 a barrel, down 15 cents, at 3:18 p.m. Singapore time in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The May contract, which expired yesterday, rose $1.89, or 1.6 percent, to settle at $119.37 a barrel on Nymex, a record close. Futures earlier reached the highest intraday price since trading began in 1983. Prices are up 79 percent from a year ago.

U.S. gasoline inventories probably declined 2 million barrels from 215.8 million barrels the week before, according to the median of 16 responses in a Bloomberg survey. Distillate- fuel supplies, which include heating oil and diesel, probably may have dropped 50,000 barrels from 106.1 million barrels the prior week, according to the median of estimates in the survey.

Scotland Refinery

Ineos Group Holdings Plc and the U.K. union Unite failed to resolve a labor dispute which may lead to a two-day strike at the 200,000 barrel-a-day Grangemouth oil refinery near Edinburgh, threatening fuel shortages in Scotland and northern England. A meeting in London between Ineos and Unite broke up without reaching an agreement yesterday evening, Unite National Officer Phil McNulty said. The meeting will restart today.

The plant takes crude from BP Plc's Forties Pipeline System, which transfers oil from more than 50 North Sea fields.

Oil companies in Russia, the world's biggest crude producer after Saudi Arabia, need tax breaks to develop new fields and boost output, Viktor Vekselberg told an American Chamber of Commerce conference in Moscow today. Russia said this month that first-quarter production fell 1 percent.

Brent crude for June settlement was at $115.75 a barrel, down 20 cents, on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange at 2:46 p.m. Singapore time. The future gained $1.52, or 1.3 percent, to close at a record $115.95 a barrel yesterday. The contract touched $116.75, an all-time intraday high.

Dollar, Commodities

The falling dollar and higher global demand for raw materials have led to records this year for commodities including gold, corn, soybeans and rice. The UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index, which tracks 26 raw materials, gained 1.6 percent to 1,549.29 yesterday, up 37 percent from a year earlier.

``Because of the concerns of stability of supply from the different regions, investors think oil has a good chance of increasing,'' said Purvin & Gertz's Shum.

The dollar today traded near a record low against the euro on speculation the Federal Reserve will cut borrowing costs further while the European Central Bank keeps interest rates on hold. The currency fell below $1.60 per euro for a second day.

The dollar traded at $1.5941 per euro at 3:11 p.m. in Singapore, from $1.5991 in New York yesterday, when it touched $1.6019, the lowest since Europe's currency debuted in 1999.

Supply Threats

Oil also gained because of a supply disruption in Nigeria. Royal Dutch Shell Plc closed 169,000 barrels a day of supply after attacks on a pipeline last week.

Shell said April 21 it would declare a force majeure on oil exports after 169,000 barrels of daily output in Nigeria was suspended because of rebel attacks. Force majeure is a clause that allows companies to miss deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has claimed responsibility for most of the assaults on oil installations since the beginning of 2006, which have cut more than 20 percent of crude exports from Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer.

``That was a big blow what they did last week, so that problem is clearly not going away,'' said Jonathan Kornafel, the director for Asia at Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. ``The market is looking for any bullish news and it seems that everyday there is another reason to go higher.''

U.S. oil supplies probably advanced 1.5 million barrels in the week ended April 18 from 313.7 million barrels, according to the median of responses from 15 analysts before this week's Energy Department report.

The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly report on inventories today at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.