Surprise Crude Build Caps Oil Prices

　　The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a surprise build in crude oil inventories of 4.127 million barrels for the week ending September 24.

　　The build runs contrary to the analyst expectations who had estimated a loss of 2.333 million barrels for the week.

　　In the previous week, the API reported a draw in oil inventories of 6.108 million barrels—a larger loss than the 2.400 million barrel draw that analysts had predicted.

　　Oil prices fell on Tuesday leading up to the data release, despite weekly reports of falling U.S. crude oil inventories and market sentiment that is eyeing a tighter market ahead—especially on the back of the natural gas crunch in Europe that is assumed will spill over into other countries.

　　WTI fell 0.70% on Tuesday afternoon leading up to the data release.

　　At 3:38 p.m. EST, WTI was trading at $74.92—a roughly $4.50 gain on the week, but a loss of $0.53 on the day. Brent crude was trading down 1.01% for the day at $78.73.