June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was little changed before the release of a U.S. government report that is forecast to show a fifth straight week of declining inventories.

The Energy Department report will show that supplies dropped 1.75 million barrels last week, according to the median of 14 estimates by analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. Inventories have fallen 7.2 percent since the week ended May 9, Energy Department data show.

Traders are ``looking for another drawdown in inventories,'' said Ric Navy, a broker at BNP Paribas SA in New York. ``We have had a number of weeks in a row of drawdowns in crude stocks.''

Crude oil for July delivery rose 9 cents to $134.10 a barrel at 9:37 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price, which reached a record $139.89 a barrel June 16, is up 94 percent in the past year.

Today's report, scheduled to be released at 10:35 a.m. in Washington, is expected to show that U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose 850,000 barrels, according to the Bloomberg News survey. Consumer fuel purchases last week were 3.2 percent lower than a year earlier, MasterCard Inc. reported yesterday. In Nigeria, oil workers may strike in a dispute with Chevron Corp.'s local unit.

``The U.S. data this afternoon will give some indication on implied demand,'' said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst Commerzbank AG in Frankurt. ``Seasonally gasoline demand is relatively low, but at these price levels it should be lower.''

Nigeria's senior white-collar oil workers may strike at Chevron Corp.'s local unit at any time, after talks with the company collapsed, a union official said. Chevron had a daily output of about 350,000 barrels of crude and 14 million cubic feet of gas in 2007 from its 32 fields in Nigeria, according to the company's Web site.

Brent crude oil for August settlement rose 42 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $134.14 on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices reached a record $139.32 on June 16.

Stockpile Report

Gasoline demand was down 1.7 percent from last year, the Energy Department reported on June 11. Consumers purchased an average 9.305 million barrels a day of motor fuels last week, 3.2 percent less than a year earlier, MasterCard said in its weekly SpendingPulse report yesterday.

Kuwait's finance minister, Mustafa Al-Shimali said in Isfahan, Iran, yesterday that crude oil prices are too high. A reasonable oil price would be ``more or less $100,'' he said in an interview.

Jeddah Meeting

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has called a meeting of producers, major industrial nations and banks for June 22 in the country's Red Sea port of Jeddah to discuss plans to stabilize prices.

The kingdom last month said it would raise output by 300,000 barrels a day, and may announce a second increase at the meeting in Jeddah.

``People are looking forward to the meeting in Jeddah,'' said Tetsu Emori, fund manager with Astmax Ltd. in Tokyo. ``We are expecting further increases by the Saudis but people are doubtful that it will push down the prices.''

President George W. Bush today will urge Congress to lift the U.S. ban on offshore oil drilling, a move that is in line with a similar push by Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

``With gasoline now over $4 a gallon,'' Bush ``wants to work with states to determine where offshore drilling should occur,'' and have ``the federal government to share revenues with the states,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Tuttle in New York at rtuttle@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 18, 2008 09:42 EDT