Crude oil inventories in the United States saw a decrease of 2.3 million barrels during the week ending February 21, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday. Crude oil prices were mixed prior to the crude data release by the U.S. Energy Information Administration after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a dip of 640,000 barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories. The Brent benchmark was trading slightly down, off 0.05% at $72.98 at 10:24 am, just minutes before release. The…