The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a build of 1.821 million barrels of United States crude oil inventories for week ending November 24, against analyst forecasts for an inventory drawdown of 3.15 million barrels . Last week the API had reported a more than 6-million-barrel draw. Gasoline inventories, according to the API, saw a draw this week, of 1.529 million barrels for the week ending November 24, compared to forecasts of a 1.17-million-barrel build. This week marks the last snapshot of inventory figures for US crude oil to be taken prior to the OPEC meeting this Thursday in Vienna, a historical meeting that has analysts pitted at opposite sides in the will-they or won’t-they drama and that has taxed traders as they attempt to predict the meeting’s outcome. This week’s unexpected build in crude oil inventories is likely to put downward pressure on oil prices, which in turn puts […]