Oil prices fell on Wednesday on expectations that the U.S. crude stockpiles increased last week, adding to an expanding global surplus of crude. Industry group American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday that the U.S. crude inventories rose 1.6 million barrels last week. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect inventories to have declined by 300,000 barrels. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release the official data later Wednesday. “The official EIA report this afternoon will be followed closely—should we see another build today, this could cause some volatility and weigh on oil prices,” said Michael Poulsen, oil analyst at Global Risk Management. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.1% to $43.96 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 1% at $41.43 a barrel. The strong U.S. dollar is also weighing on oil prices on […]