Crude Inventories Continue to Decline Amid Strong Oil Product Draws

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.79 million barrels in the week ending April 24. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 4.4 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 300,000-barrel build. US crude inventories are up 45 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending April 24, 7.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the…