Oil field Oil prices began climbing shortly after the EIA published its weekly inventory report on Wednesday, which showed that crude oil inventories last week fell by 2.5 million barrels in the week to August 12, standing at 521.1 million barrels. The authority, however, added—likely to no avail to the already unsettled oil market—that inventories are still at a record-high level for this time of year. The caveat, although immediately disregarded by the market, may takes away much of the report’s potential for any longer-term stabilization of the oil market. Gasoline stockpiles were also down, by as much as 2.7 million barrels but, like crude, too high for the season. Distillate inventories were up, however, by 1.9 million barrels, yet still slightly below the upper limit for the season, which may reinforce a sense of optimism in fuels. Refineries processed 16.9 million bpd of crude last week, a weekly […]