By Moming Zhou
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude futures were slightly lower Wednesday ahead of the Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum data. Crude oil inventories are seen falling 1.7 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 25, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported an increase of 1.73 million barrels in U.S. inventories. Crude for February delivery slid 0.1% to $78.83 a barrel in early North American electronic trading.
