Crude oil prices were stubbornly down following the Energy Information Administration reported a modest crude oil inventory draw of 400,000 barrels for the week to January 17. This compared with analyst expectations of a 1.117-million-barrel inventory decline and a draw of 2.5 million barrels reported a week earlier. Last week, however, oil prices were pressured by the EIA’s reporting of hefty builds in both gasoline and distillate fuel. For last week, the authority reported a build in gasoline, of 1.7 million barrels, and a 1.2-million-barrel decline in distillate fuel inventories. This compared with a build of 6.7 million barrels in gasoline inventories a week earlier and an 8.2-million-barrel increase in distillate fuels. Gasoline production last week averaged 9.5 million bpd, versus 9.3 million bpd a week earlier. Distillate fuel production stood at 5.0 million bpd, down from 5.2 million bpd a week earlier. At the time of writing both […]