U.S. crude stockpiles were seen declining last week after rising for two straight weeks, and refined product inventories also likely fell, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. Five analysts polled ahead of inventory reports from industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) and the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated, on average, that data would show crude stocks fell about 1.2 million barrels in the week ended May 4. Crude inventories jumped by 6.2 million barrels to about 436 million barrels in the week to April 27, compared with expectations for an increase of 739,000 barrels. The build was largely concentrated on the West Coast, where inventories rose by nearly 5 million barrels. The API is scheduled to release its […]