The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated the inventory build this week for crude oil to be 5.983 million barrels after analysts predicted a build of 767,000 barrels . U.S. crude inventories have shed some 73 million barrels since the start of 2021 and about 16 million barrels since the start of 2020. Global crude stockpiles are also low. In the week prior, the API reported a draw in crude oil inventories of 1.076 million barrels after analysts had predicted a larger draw of 1.769 barrels. Oil prices were mixed on Wednesday in the run-up to the data release on profit-taking after Tuesday’s big price spike following Russia’s official recognition of separatist regions of Ukraine as independence and subsequent movement of Russian troops into those regions. Ultimately, the United States slapped sanctions on Russia following those actions. WTI was trading up 0.05% at $91.96 per barrel on the day at […]