U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly drop 2.5 million barrels OPEC’s former head says conditions right for oil-freeze deal Oil held its advance after the longest run of gains in more than a year as U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles declined, easing an overhang of supplies that are at the highest seasonal level in at least two decades. Futures were little changed in New York after advancing more than 12 percent over the previous five sessions. Crude inventories fell the most in five weeks, while motor fuel stockpiles slid for a third week, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. OPEC is on course to agree to an output-freeze deal because its biggest members are already pumping flat-out, Chakib Khelil, the group’s former president, said in a Bloomberg interview. Oil has climbed about 19 percent since closing below $40 a barrel and slipping into a bear market earlier this […]