Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 0.4 million barrels during the week ending December 19, after holding nearly flat the week prior, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released late due to the Christmas holiday. The modest build brings commercial crude stockpiles to 424.8 million barrels, which is still about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year. The delayed EIA data release follows API’s estimates from earlier in the week, which had pointed to a slightly larger…