The EIA reported a draw of -215 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. In contrast, the market expected a build of +1,207 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $80.99 from $80.64 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 12.70 MMBbls (3.0%) to last year, and a deficit of 9.50 MMBbls (-2.2%) to the five-year average.
