Crude oil prices have been a little firmer this week, underpinned by a bullish report from the Energy Information Administration. The EIA reported that in the week ending October 9th, US crude oil inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels. This takes the total position to 489.1 million barrels, the lowest overall inventories level in months. Following this latest decrease, US crude stockpiles are now sitting just 11% above their fiver year seasonal average. The report showed that US gasoline inventories were also lower over the week, falling by 1.6 million barrels to just 1% above their five-year seasonal average. ... (full story)