Oil Pulls Back From Crisis-High as Surprise US Inventory Build Offsets Saudi Supply Fears; Wright Says Pipeline 'Days' From Reopening

Crude eased Wednesday from Tuesday's crisis-high after the American Petroleum Institute reported US crude stockpiles rose 7.14 million barrels for the week ending Sep 11 -- against consensus for a 1.8-million-barrel draw and the prior week's 300,000-barrel decline -- a surprise build that pressured prices even as Saudi Arabia's Yanbu loadings remained suspended and the East-West pipeline stayed shut. WTI tumbled toward $100/bbl (from Tuesday's $105.83 close) while Brent fell toward $108 after its 14-day relative strength index pushed above 70 on the prior two sessions' 4% gain, a level technicians flagged as overbought. Rabobank analysts said 'the new disruption comes as crude inventories continue to decline globally and SPRs are beginning to hit worrisome levels,' arguing the pullback reflects technical positioning rather than an easing of the underlying supply story. Speaking at a G20 energy meeting in Houston, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright reiterated the East-West pipeline outage 'will be measured in days' and said Saudi Arabia is working with US military assistance to redirect additional crude through the Strait of Hormuz, even as industry sources continued to cite repair estimates ranging from weeks to over a month.