U.S. crude oil stockpiles dropped last week to their lowest levels since January 2020, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Inventories have been declining for several months as U.S. fuel demand has rebounded with Americans getting vaccinated against coronavirus. Infections, however, are surging again and analysts are watching to see if fuel demand slackens, particularly across southern states where the number of people infected has surged. Crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) fell by 3.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 13 to 435.5 million barrels, exceeding estimates for a 1.1 million-barrel drop. Crude exports rose in the most recent week to 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd). “The crude draw will be very supportive for the market. There’s a good demand from exports, probably to do with the recent price decline,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. “This report should […]