Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 8.5 million barrels during the week ending February 6, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 428.8 million barrels according to government data, which is still 3% 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 rose by 13.4 million barrels. Crude prices…