The EIA reported a draw of -1,356 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. In contrast, the market expected a build of +1,609 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $86.89 from $86.79 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 8.70 MMBbls (2.1%) to last year, and a deficit of 12.30 MMBbls (-2.8%) to the five-year average.
