Decline in national stockpiles caused by West Coast drop: EIA Gulf, East Coast inventories expand; U.S. production increases Oil traded near a three-week low below $50 a barrel as U.S. East and Gulf coast crude stockpiles rose along with nationwide production. Futures were little changed in New York after falling 1.6 percent Wednesday. While government data showed total U.S. inventories declined last week, they were pulled down mainly by a supply drop on the West Coast, a region that’s sometimes ignored by traders as its distribution system is isolated from the rest of the country. The nation’s crude output rose for a second week. Oil has fluctuated near $50 a barrel amid uncertainty about whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries can implement the first output cuts in eight years at an official gathering in November. An OPEC committee will meet this week to try to resolve differences over […]