The EIA reported a surprise withdrawal of -8,020 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. This draw was larger than the average estimate of a build of 3,140 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $103.05 from $103.34 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 79.20 MMBbls (-16.1%) to last year, and a deficit of 70.80 MMBbls (-14.6%) to the five-year average.
