The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a large draw this week for crude oil of 3.799 million barrels, while analysts predicted a draw of 110,000 barrels. The build comes as the Department of Energy released 6.9 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves in Week Ending June 24. U.S. crude inventories have shed some 71 million barrels since the start of 2021 and about 15 million barrels since the start of 2020, according to API data. In the week prior, the API reported a build in crude oil inventories of 5.607 million barrels —the biggest increase since February—after analysts had predicted a draw of 1.433 million barrels. WTI was trading up on Wednesday at 2.06% in the runup to the release, rising to $111.18 per barrel by 3:00 pm on fresh market fears that OPEC could be closer to their maximum capacity than previously thought. Brent crude was trading […]