The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that there was a build this week for crude oil of 2.811 million barrels, largely in line with analyst predictions of a 2.796 million barrels build. U.S. crude inventories have shed some 76 million barrels since the start of 2021 and about 22 million barrels since the start of 2020. In the week prior, the API reported a large draw in crude oil inventories of 6.1 million barrels after analysts had predicted a build of 2.796 million barrels. Oil prices were up sharply on Tuesday in the runup to the data release after the White House announced it would ban all Russian oil and gas imports into the United States. WTI was trading up 3.83% at $124 per barrel on the day at 3:30 p.m. EST—up $20 per barrel on the week. Brent crude was trading up 4.15% on the day at $128 […]