The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated on Wednesday a surprise crude oil inventory build of 1.57 million barrels for the week ending January 17, compared to analyst expectations of a 1.009-million-barrel draw in inventory. Last week saw a build in crude oil inventories of 1.1 million barrels , according to API data. The EIA’s estimates, however, were of a draw of 2.5 million barrels for that week. Oil prices were down earlier in the day prior to the afternoon data release, despite continued unrest in oil-rich Iraq and a near-complete oil production disruption in Libya, as fears of economic slowdown once again surface—this time not from the trade dispute between the United States and China, but due to a deadly SARS-like virus known as coronavirus in China that now shows a confirmed case in the United States. At 2:24 pm EST on Wednesday, the WTI benchmark was trading down […]