A MAJOR HOLD!Crude oil inventories in the US fell by a staggering 7.4 million barrels for the week ending August 30, according to The (API). Analysts had expected a far smaller 900,000-barrel dip. For the week prior, the API reported a 3.4-million-barrel decrease in crude inventories. So far this year, crude oil inventories are more than 2 million barrels under where they were at the start of the year, having decreased by 10 million barrels,