Crude oil storage tanks are seen in an aerial photograph at the Cushing oil hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, U.S. April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Drone Base/File Photo July 21 (Reuters) – U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose last week, breaking a streak of eight weeks of declines, as imports surgedto their highest in a year, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) rose by 2.1 million barrels in week to July 16 to 439.7 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4.5 million-barrel drop. U.S. crude imports last week rose to 7.1 million barrels per day (bpd), their highest since July 2020, boosting net crude imports (USOICI=ECI) to their loftiest since December at 4.6 million bpd. Exports also dropped 1.6 million bpd as the price differential between U.S. crude futures and Brent crude has narrowed, making exports less attractive to foreign buyers. “It was […]