The EIA reported a draw of -3,449 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. This draw was larger than the average estimate of -1,530 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $107.59 from $108.22 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 92.00 MMBbls (-18.3%) to last year, and a deficit of 64.70 MMBbls (-13.6%) to the five-year average.
