Crude oil inventories in the United States rose this week by 4.906 million barrels for the week ending April 26, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). For the week prior, the API reported a 3.23 million barrel draw in crude inventories. {chart} On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose by 0.6 million barrels as of April 26. Inventories are now at 366.3 million barrels—the highest point since last April. Oil prices were trading down ahead of the API data release on Tuesday on disappointing economic data as traders lose ... (full story)