Energy Information Administration will release supply data at 10:30 a.m. Eastern By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures fell on Wednesday, as expectations of a rise in U.S. crude inventories and indications of a lower opening on Wall Street weighed on sentiment in the energy market. Crude oil for May delivery dropped 51 cents to $86.33 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. It had earlier hit an intraday high of $87 a barrel. Oil prices ended slightly higher on Tuesday at a fresh 17-month high. Since March 29, crude futures have finished every session with gains, buoyed by optimism about the global economy recovery. The Energy Information Administration will release data on U.S. petroleum inventories at 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Analysts polled by Platts expect an increase of 1.5 million barrels in crude supplies. They also project a decline of 1 million barrels in gasoline stocks and a drop of 1.5 million barrels in distillate stocks. Refinery utilization is seen rising 0.2 percentage point to 82.80%. "With crude requirements in the second quarter seasonally weaker partly due to refinery maintenance, further stock builds could emerge before more deep-rooted economic growth takes hold in OECD countries," said analysts at Vienna-based JBC Energy in a note to clients. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported that crude supplies rose by 1.07 million barrels during the week ended April 2. Gasoline stocks fell 2.9 million barrels, while distillate supplies rose by 723,000 barrels. Refinery utilization increased to 84.7% from 82.1% a week earlier, the API said. U.S. stock futures edged lower on Wednesday, as traders awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke due later in the session.

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