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* Futures off: Dow 0.27%, S&P 500 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.15%

March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were

subdued in choppy trading on Wednesday as investors assessed the

outlook for crude prices and looked ahead to a key inflation

report, while tensions in the Middle East continued to escalate.

Energy prices whipsawed as traders weighed a report that the

International Energy Agency was looking at releasing oil

reserves to stabilize supply, in the face of intensifying air

strikes in the Middle East that are likely to ground shipping

through the strategic Strait of Hormuz for a while.

Still, remarks from President Donald Trump earlier this week

offered markets some reassurance that the war might not be drawn

out for months. Oil prices have fallen to under $90 a barrel

from nearly $120 earlier in the week.

Later in the day, a report is expected to show consumer

prices likely picked up in February as tariffs were passed

through to individuals, which could add to worries of rising

gasoline costs in the months ahead. The levies were deemed

unconstitutional late last month.

Worries that higher energy costs could fan price pressures

pushed back expectations for a 25-basis-point interest rate cut

by the Federal Reserve to September from July, according to

LSEG-compiled data.

Signs of a softening jobs market are likely to further

complicate the central bank's monetary policymaking.

"The big concern for the markets is to what extent this

supply shock leads to higher inflation, weaker growth, interest

rates that are higher than they would otherwise have been, and

lower profitability," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market

analyst at Capital.com.

At 4:57 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 131 points,

or 0.27%, and S&P 500 E-minis were down 9.75 points,

or 0.14%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 38.5 points,

or 0.15%.

Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE volatility index,

edged higher 0.72 points to 25.65.

Meanwhile, Oracle predicted that the AI data center

boom will power its revenue above estimates well into 2027,

sending its shares up 10% in premarket trading.

Semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia ( NVDA ), Broadcom ( AVGO )

and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) were marginally

higher.

Travel stocks, which are sensitive to energy prices, were

mixed on Wednesday. American Airlines ( AAL ) edged up 0.3%,

while cruise liner Carnival slipped 0.6%.

Remarks from Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman

are due later in the day and will be scrutinized for any policy

direction.

Investors were also monitoring developments in the private

credit space.

JPMorgan Chase marked down the value of certain

loans held by private-credit groups and is tightening its

lending to the sector, a report said.

Among others, defense company AeroVironment ( AVAV ) dropped

9.6% after forecasting 2026 adjusted profit below estimates.

Nike ( NKE ) gained 1.8% after Barclays upgraded the

athletic wear maker to "overweight" from "equal-weight".