NEW YORK — Crude oil futures made their first foray past $115 yesterday, propelled to a new record by concerns about how much gasoline will be available during the peak summer months.

Inventories of gasoline fell by 5.5 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Department, a much bigger decline than forecast by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires. Light, sweet crude for May delivery responded by rising as high as $115.07 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and later settled up $1.14 at a record $114.93 a barrel.

The report said crude inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels last week, instead of the gain analysts expected. Oil prices were also boosted by the falling dollar, which declined to a new low against the euro yesterday. Many investors buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation and a falling greenback.