Crude oil inventories are still coming down. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a huge draw of 7.130 million barrels in United States crude oil inventories, compared to an S&P Platts’ survey of analysts that expected inventories would draw down by 3.9 million barrels for the week ending October 13. Gasoline inventories, according to the API, saw a surprise build of 1.941 million barrels for the week ending October 13, against an expected draw of 340,000 barrels. Both WTI and Brent benchmarks were up on Monday on concerns that a US/Iran standoff could disrupt oil supplies, along with internal struggles in Iraqi Kirkuk oilfields as the referendum continues to pit Turkey, Iran, and Iraq governments against the Iraqi Kurds—a volatile situation that could spark a civil war. A further boost to oil prices came as Gulf Coast oil production continued to see significant disruptions through last week caused by […]