The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a draw of 2.72 million barrels in United States crude oil inventories, compared to analyst expectations that the EIA would report a 2.0-million barrel draw for the week ending June 16. This week’s inventory draw almost completely offsets last week’s API-reported crude inventory build of 2.75 million barrels. Oil prices started off the week with a rather poor showing, only worsening on Tuesday. As so often is the case, prices rallied on Tuesday—if you are inclined to call it a rally—from a low point of $42.94 to an unimpressive $43.49 by 3:44pm EST, still 2.14% down on the day. The falling prices, which are now at a seven-month low, are a clear indication that even record compliance from OPEC/non-OPEC is an insufficient bolsterer of prices. Both benchmarks are trading more than $3.00 lower than last week. This week’s build, according to the API, […]