Crude prices lack direction Jan. 27 as the market weighed a bullish US crude draw against pandemic -dimmed demand outlooks. NYMEX March WTI settled up 24 cents at $52.85/b, and ICE March Brent was down 10 cents at $55.71/b. US commercial crude inventories declined 9.91 million barrels during the week ended Jan. 22 to a 10-month low of 476.65 million barrels, according to US Energy Information Administration data released Jan. 27. It was the largest one-week draw since the week ended July 24 and left inventories just 6% above the five-year average, the narrowest supply overhang since early April. The draw far-exceeded American Petroleum Institute data released late Jan. 26 showing […]