Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 1.3 million barrels during the week ending December 12, after losing 1.8 million barrels in the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 424.4 million barrels according to government data, which is 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories…