NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude futures weakened Wednesday as investors anticipated data will show a rise in U.S. gasoline stockpiles in the middle of the summer driving season. Light, sweet crude for August delivery traded down 43 cents, or 0.6%, at $68.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange was 41 cents lower $68.39 a barrel. The market traded steadily ahead of weekly data on U.S. oil stockpiles. Analysts expect the government will report crude inventories fell 1.3 million barrels in the week ended June 19, while stocks of gasoline likely rose by 1 million barrels and distillates likely rose 600,000 barrels. Analysts expect refineries upped operations 0.1 percentage point to 86% of capacity. The U.S. Department of Energy is scheduled to release the data at 10:30 a.m. EDT. Separate data released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute indicated gasoline inventories climbed 3.7 million barrels in the week, far more than expectations. Gasoline's price premium to crude has plunged in recent days on fears an annual summer spike in demand won't materialize. "The API report was bearish on products and the gasoline numbers are having a negative impact on the market," said Tony Rosado, broker at GA Global Markets. Front-month July reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, fell 3.40 cents, or 1.8%, to $1.8592 a gallon. July heating oil fell 1.30 cents, or 0.7%, to $1.7560 a gallon. Traders are also expected to focus on the Federal Reserve's statement at the conclusion of its two-day meeting at about 2:15 p.m. EDT. The central bank's wording could influence the dollar, whose recent decline against the euro has helped propel crude from lows in the $30-a-barrel range earlier this year. "As far as today goes, traders will looking to the Fed, rather than the DOE to ascertain crude oil's path," said the Schork Report, an energy markets newsletter. Crude bounced from earlier lows after the Commerce Department reported demand for durable goods rose 1.8% last month, countering Wall Street expectations of a decline. Oil remains under pressure as the economic slowdown dents global demand. Japan's crude oil imports in May fell 18.8% on year to 3 million barrels a day, their lowest level in more than 20 years, the Ministry of Finance said Wednesday. "A lot of people are looking at crude as a financial instrument, trading in lockstep with equities, but they forget the demand is not there and stockpiles are building in storage facilities," said Tim Jennings, president of Vantage Trading in New York.

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