* U.S. oil dips below $99
* U.S. crude stocks 440,000 barrels above forecast
* Gasoline stocks 2.1 million barrels above forecast
* Coming Up: Weekly U.S. EIA petroleum stocks; 1430 GMT
By Francis Kan
SINGAPORE, May 25 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures slipped below $112 a barrel on Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude inventories fell less than anticipated last week and the dollar rebounded against the euro.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said crude inventories fell 860,000 barrels for the week ended May 20, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1.3 million-barrel draw.
Gasoline stocks rose 2.4 million barrels a week before the Memorial Day weekend, the official start of the summer driving season. Analysts had only expected a 300,000-barrel build.
"The inventory numbers are driving prices lower. The rise in gasoline stocks is significant coming just before Memorial Day. If the EIA numbers show a rise as well that will put more pressure on prices," said Michel Lo, a Hong Kong-based analyst with Nomura International.
As the U.S. driving season approaches, traders have been closely eyeing the steady drawdown of gasoline stockpiles.
Separate data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing 11 successive weekly draws in the motor fuel up to early May had helped to boost oil prices. The EIA will issue its latest data later on Wednesday.
Brent crude for July
A stronger dollar was also depressing prices, as the greenback bounced back against the euro and ticked up versus a basket of currencies amid fears about Greece's finances and Europe's spreading debt crisis.
Euro zone debt concerns drove oil prices down more than 2 percent on Monday, before rebounding strongly a day later after Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley raised their forecasts for Brent crude. [ID:nL3E7GO153]
Europe's policy options to avert a Greek default are narrowing fast after the ECB and ratings agencies warned against even voluntary debt rescheduling and Athens highlighted its urgent need for more EU cash. [ID:nLDE74N0JZ]
END OF QE2
Commodity markets have also been preparing for the end of the U.S. Federal Reserve's $600 billion bond-buying program in June, which was designed to stimulate the economy and has helped prop up prices.
Although prices have already been declining in anticipation, the end of quantitative easing initiative, or QE2, will likely leave markets more vulnerable to issues that investors have overlooked as long as the Fed was printing money at a record pace, analysts say.
But the Fed would likely not change its policy immediately after the end of QE2, but would stay on hold "for a couple of meetings," James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Fed, said on Tuesday. [ID:nN24227650]
Elsewhere, the conflict in Libya that has helped put a floor on oil prices showed no signs of letting up, as NATO warplanes hammered Muammar Gaddafi's compound with their heaviest air strikes yet on Tuesday after the United States said the Libyan leader would "inevitably" be forced from power. [ID:nLDE74N2D3] [ID:nLDE74N00B] (Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr.)