The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise build this week for crude oil of 2.156 million barrels, while analysts predicted a draw of 400,000 barrels. The build comes as the Department of Energy released 5.3 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves in week ending August 5, to 464.6 million barrels. U.S. crude inventories have shed some 61 million barrels since the start of 2021, with a 2 million barrel gain since the start of 2020, according to API data. In the week prior, the API reported a surprise build in crude…
