The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprise crude oil inventory draw this week, of 1.545 million barrels for the week ending November 16. The draw this week was the first week that saw a draw after six weeks of straight builds as reported by the API, which had weighed on oil prices under the combined weight of disappointing Iranian sanctions results combined with growing U.S. stockpiles. The report was in contrast to analyst expectations that we would see a build in crude oil inventories of 2.941 million barrels . Inventories in the Cushing, Oklahoma facility this week had climbed by 398,000 barrels, while analysts had estimated a bigger build of 2.419 million this week. Prices fell sharply on Tuesday prior to the data release as the market braced for another inventory build, holding onto a sliver of hope that OPEC would offer up some production cut plan prior […]