By Jerry A. DiColo Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude futures extended a four-day slide Tuesday, falling below $72 on weakening equities markets as investors await data that could offer more signs of a slowing economy. Light, sweet crude for October delivery recently traded $1.14, or 1.6%, lower at $71.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $1.01 lower at $72.61 a barrel. After a relatively quiet week for economic reports that still saw crude futures fall 2.6%, traders will be closely watching home sales data on Tuesday, and weekly jobless claims later this week, as a gauge of the economic recovery, and with it, oil demand. Reports over the past few months have added fears about weakening crude demand to the threat of stubbornly high oil and fuel product inventories, pulling down oil futures from recent highs above $82 a barrel in early August to seven-week lows Tuesday. Equities markets, which continue to show a close correlation with oil prices, were set to open lower as well after steep losses in overseas markets. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were recently down 103 points to 10054. Stubbornly high unemployment and worries about the economy have had a major impact on demand for oil and fuel products, with U.S. commercial inventories at the highest levels in nearly 27 years. Consumers have cut trips and other expenses, leaving the market saturated with gasoline in the midst of the important summer driving season. The high inventories helped send gasoline futures to the lowest level in eight months Monday, and front-month September reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, recently traded 2.71 cents, or 1.4%, lower at $1.8539 a gallon. The drops in gasoline and oil futures have been accompanied by rising trading volumes for crude, whick is helping to confirm the recent downward trend, said Stephen Schork, head of oil research firm The Schork Report. "The bears are piling in on the current selloff," he said in a client note. Meanwhile, investors are focused on the U.S. inventory report from the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration due 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Analysts expect crude inventories to post a modest 400,000-barrel drop. Gasoline stocks are expected to fall by 400,000 barrels, while inventories of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, are seen rising by 800,000 barrels. Similar data will be released by the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, at 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, though the reports would need to show a significant change in stockpiles to influence the pessimistic outlook. "Not much relief for oil prices is expected to come from this week's API and EIA inventory reports," said JBC Energy, in a research note. September heating oil recently traded 1.66, or 0.9%, lower at $1.9388 a gallon. -By Jerry A. DiColo, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2155; jerry.dicolo@dowjones.com.

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