June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose in New York on speculation U.S. inventories dropped for a fourth week, raising concern supply may fall short during the summer driving season.

Crude stockpiles probably declined last week by 1.5 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Inventories have lost 19 million barrels since the week ended May 9. Prices also gained as China said it imported 25 percent more oil in May to assist repairs in southwestern regions struck by an earthquake.

``The crude data is definitely below the five-year average and if it drops again this will be a rather bullish thing,'' said Hannes Loacker, an analyst at Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich in Vienna. ``In terms of bullish fundamentals, it's really about China and India, which account for 70 percent of global demand growth.''

Crude oil for July delivery climbed as much as $1.82, or 1.4 percent, to $133.13 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $132.87 at 9:43 a.m. London time.

Oil slumped 5.2 percent in the preceding two sessions, the biggest two-day decline in 11 weeks. Futures have doubled in 12 months, and investors looking to hedge against the dollar's drop helped push oil, gold, corn and gasoline to records this year.

Yesterday, oil fell $3.04, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $131.31 a barrel. Prices reached a record $139.12 on June 6 on a weaker dollar and threats to supply.

Brent Advances

Brent crude oil for July settlement gained as much as $1.89, or 1.4 percent, to $132.91 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $132.81 at 9:46 a.m. local time.

Eni SpA declared ``force majeure'' on exports from its Brass River field in Nigeria after an oil spill, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified company spokesman. Force majeure allows companies to renege on contracts because of circumstances beyond their control. Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, has been losing about a fifth of its output through militant attacks since early 2006.

Saudi Arabia is inviting energy officials from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, oil-consuming nations and oil-trading banks to a meeting to discuss record prices in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on June 22, OPEC Secretary- General Abdalla El-Badri said in a telephone interview yesterday.

China's crude imports rose to 16.2 million metric tons in May, or about 3.8 million barrels a day, the Beijing-based Customs General Administration of China said on its Web site today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net; Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 11, 2008 05:00 EDT