The EIA reported a draw of -4,523 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -1,080 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $95.54 from $95.86 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a down of 14.10 MMBbls (-3.2%) to last year, and a deficit of 37.40 MMBbls (-8.1%) to the five-year average.
