U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell last week while gasoline inventories surged by more than 10 million barrels, the biggest weekly build since April 2020, as supplies backed up at refineries due to reduced fuel demand at the end of the year. U.S. gasoline stocks (USOILG=ECI) jumped by 10.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 31 to 232.8 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.8 million-barrel rise. Analysts attributed the surprising gasoline build to steady refining production, combined with a fall-off in demand due to the coronavirus Omicron variant. “Gasoline and distillate demand disappeared. This is an Omicron demand destruction event,” said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures […]