The U.S. government will release separate supply data Wednesday morning By Polya Lesova and Nick Godt, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures traded below $78 a barrel Wednesday, as data showing unexpected buildups in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories rekindled worries about weak demand and weighed on energy prices. Also at play will be the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates at 2.15 p.m. "The energy complex is still following the stocks," said Phil Flynn, energy analyst at PFGBest. "The Fed is not expected to do much of anything so oil should still stay in this recent trading range." Crude oil for August delivery dropped $1.15, or 1.5%, to $76.70 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. Crude inventories increased by 3.69 million barrels and gasoline stocks by 810,000 barrels in the week ended June 18, the American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday. In contrast, analysts polled by Platts expected a decline of 1.5 million barrels in crude stocks and a drop of 500,000 barrels in gasoline supplies. Traders are now awaiting separate supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, due at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. The statement from the Federal Open Market Committee, due at 2:15 p.m., will also be in focus. Most analysts expect no change in interest-rate policy. In other energy news, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday that the average import oil price will likely increase from $77 a barrel this year to $86 a barrel by 2015. The price assumption was published in the IEA's medium-term oil and gas market report. Read more about the IEA's predictions.

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