Surprise Crude Oil Inventory Build Raises Pressure on Oil Bulls

Crude oil inventories in the United States rose slightly this week, by 347,000 barrels for the week ending August 16, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API), after analysts predicted a 2.9 million barrel dip. For the week prior, the API reported a 5.205-million-barrel decrease in crude inventories. So far this year, crude oil inventories are close to where they were at the start of the year, having increased by 760,000 barrels, according to API data. On Monday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the…