U.S. crude oil inventories were forecast to have fallen for the third consecutive week, while analysts expected a build in refined products last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. Six analysts polled ahead of reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated, on average, that crude stocks fell 2.5 million barrels in the week to Dec. 14. Crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 1.2 million barrels in the week to Dec. 7, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 3 million barrels. The API is scheduled to release its data for the latest week at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Tuesday, and the weekly EIA report is […]