By Jerry A. DiColo Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude futures were mostly flat Wednesday, pausing near two-month lows ahead of oil inventory data from the Department of Energy. Light, sweet crude for October delivery recently traded 20 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $71.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 13 cents lower at $72.25 a barrel. Oil prices have fallen more than $10 a barrel since early August, slumping in 10 of the last 11 trading sessions. Economic data and flagging equities markets have pointed to a slowing recovery, weighing on crude futures. Meanwhile, a report from the energy department's Energy Information Administration, due 10:30 a.m. EDT, is expected to show only a modest decline in crude stockpiles, which have remained stubbornly high through the important summer driving season. In last week's report, U.S. commercial supplies of oil and oil products rose to the highest level in nearly 27 years. The EIA is expected to report a modest 200,000-barrel decline in U.S. crude stockpiles, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires. Gasoline inventories are seen falling by 500,000 barrels, while stocks of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, are expected to rise by 900,000 barrels. "We still view the possibilities of fresh lows as strong following release of this morning's EIA report," said Jim Ritterbusch, head of Ritterbusch and Associates, which tracks the market. Tuesday night, the American Petroleum Industry, a trade group, reported crude stocks fell by 1.8 million barrels, gasoline stocks rose by 692,000 barrels, and distillates rose by 900,000 barrels. The EIA could add to pessimistic economic data released earlier Wednesday. New orders for durable goods, which include cars, equipment and other products designed to last for at least three years, rose just 0.3% in July, the Commerce Department said, compared to expectations for a 2.8% gain. The lower-than-anticipated durable goods orders data are the latest in a string of economic reports that indicate the economy is slowing. On Tuesday, a drop in July existing home sales to their lowest level in 15 years added to reports over the past month, including rising jobless claims and the lowering of the Federal Reserve's growth outlook, that roiled markets. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were recently down 64 points to 9959 following the durable-goods news. Front-month September reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, recently traded 0.94 cents, or 0.5%, lower at $1.8400 a gallon. September heating oil recently traded 0.37 cents, or 0.2%, higher at $1.9394 a gallon. -By Jerry A. DiColo, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2155; jerry.dicolo@dowjones.com.

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