U.S. crude oil inventories rose unexpectedly last week, hitting their highest levels since July 2017, due to weak refinery output, particularly in the Midwest, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose 4.7 million barrels in the week ended May 17, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 599,000 barrels. That boosted overall crude inventories, not including the U.S. government’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to 476.8 million barrels, their highest since July 2017. Some of the increase in inventories came as a result of sales out of the SPR, which this week dropped 1.1 million barrels, the fourth consecutive week of sales. Analysts attributed the inventory build to more sluggish refinery runs than normal for this time of year. In particular, […]