The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a build in crude oil inventories of 1.141 million barrels for the week ending December 4. Analysts had predicted an inventory draw of 1.514 million barrels for the week. In the previous week, the API reported a build in oil inventories of 4.146-million barrels, after analysts had predicted draw instead, of 2.358 million barrels. Brent crude was slightly up on Tuesday afternoon before the data release, but WTI was trading down. Oil prices remain under pressure from extended lockdowns in many places in the United States, while crude inventories in the United States are still high for this time of year. In the runup to Tuesday’s data release, at 1:27 p.m. EDT, WTI had fallen by $0.09 (-0.20%) to $45.67 up roughly $1 per barrel on the week. The Brent crude benchmark had risen—just slightly—on the day by $0.07 at that […]