The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week ending May 22. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 9.1 million barrels. US crude inventories have risen by 22 million barrels so far this year, according to API data. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May 22, 9.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 365.1 million barrels—the…