U.S. oil prices traded at their highest level in seven months on Wednesday after an industry group reported a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories last week. The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that its data for last week showed a 5.1-million-barrel decrease in crude supplies. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its official data later on Wednesday and analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal expect U.S. crude stockpiles to have decreased by 2.5 million barrels. “The unexpected API crude draw supports oil prices,” said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at PVM brokerage. “Short-term bullish developments dominate traders’ minds.” Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.2% to $49.19 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up 1.2% at $49.18 a barrel. The EIA will also release its weekly estimate of production. U.S. output has […]