Crude oil inventories in the United States fell this week by 3.23 million barrels for the week ending April 19, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had estimated a 1.8 million barrel build for crude oil. For the week prior, the API reported a 4.09 million barrel build in crude inventories. On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose by 0.8 million barrels as of April 19. Inventories are now at 365.7 million barrels—the highest point since last April. Oil prices were trading up ahead of the API data release on ... (full story)