West Intermediate slid from a three-week high after government data showed crude inventories expanded as production increased to a 28-year peak in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Brent was steady in London . Futures fell as much as 0.5 percent in New York , the first drop in four days. Crude stockpiles rose to a near-record last week as climbed to the highest rate since 1986, the Energy Information Administration reported yesterday. Russia has no intention of sending troops into Ukraine, which is sliding into a civil war that will preclude holding legitimate elections, according to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov . “Crude inventories are at levels that are historically high,” Jonathan Barratt , the chief investment officer at Ayers Alliance Securities in Sydney, said by phone today. “Anywhere above $102 a barrel is expensive.” WTI for June delivery declined as much as 47 cents to $101.90 a […]