By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday, hit by more signs of weakening in the U.S. economy and sliding U.S. equities.
Crude oil for September delivery fell $1.19, or 1.5%, to $79.04 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In Asian trade, reports from China and Japan fuelled concerns over a slowdown in global economic growth and its impact on energy demand. See story on Chinese data
And in the U.S., the government said the trade deficit widened to $49.9 billion in June, more than economists expected. See trade deficit story.
On Tuesday, crude fell 1.5% as markets slumped amid concerns over a slowdown in Chinese imports, while renewed asset purchases from the Federal Reserve to a slumping economy only slightly dented the losses.
Early Wednesday, the International Energy Agency revised slightly upwards its forecasts for global oil demand for 2010 and 2011, but warned that there is a significant downside risk to these estimates if the economic recovery falters in the second half of the year.
Traders await official word on weekly supplies, which could influence Wednesday trading. The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to report on inventories for the week ended Aug. 6 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a decline of 2.18 million barrels of oil in the nation's stockpiles for the week ended August 6, slightly lower than expected.
The Washington-based trade group also reported a decline of 1.5 million barrels in the stockpiles of gasoline, and an increase of 2.29 million barrels of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel.
Analysts polled by Platts expect a decline of 2.4 million barrels, a drop of 1.5 million for gasoline stocks, and an increase of 1.1 million barrels for distillates.
