The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a larger-than-anticipated draw this week for crude oil of 3.479 million barrels, compared to analyst predictions of a 1.167 million barrel draw. U.S. crude inventories have shed some 73.5 million barrels since the start of 2021 and about 17.5 million barrels since the start of 2020. In the week prior, the API reported a surprise draw in crude oil inventories of 4.784 million barrels after analysts had predicted a build of 2.167 million barrels. Analysts and traders surveyed by the Wall Street Journal early today anticipated a 200,000 fall in U.S. oil inventories and a 300,000 barrel drop in gasoline stockpiles. Of the 11 analysts surveyed by WSJ, seven are predicting a decrease and four, an increase in crude oil inventories. They also expect distillates to record a decrease of up to 1.5 million barrels. Crude oil prices remained bullish Tuesday after the […]