Oil Inventory Confusion

US crude oil inventories are currently at the forefront of short-term price swings, but traders should take these reports with a pinch of salt. Every Tuesday, the API releases its estimates of crude oil, gasoline, distillate, and Cushing inventory changes. The next day, the EIA does the same. There are other sources, too, including Tanker Trackers, which uses exports and production to calculate how much inventory has shifted. The US is largely considered the most transparent oil market to follow inventory moves, but all three sources differ, and…