The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise draw this week for crude oil of 1.770 million barrels, while analysts predicted a build of 333,000 barrels. U.S. crude inventories have grown by roughly 21 million barrels so far this year, according to API data, while the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves fell by nearly eight times that figure. The draw comes even as the Department of Energy released 6.2 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves in the week ending September 30 that left the SPR with 416.4 million barrels. In the week prior, the API reported a build in crude oil inventories of 4.150 million barrels after analysts had predicted a small build of 333,000 barrels. WTI rose on Tuesday prior to the data release. At 2:28 p.m. ET, WTI was trading up $3.15 (+3.77%) on the day at $86.78 per barrel—up nearly $9 per barrel on the week […]