The EIA reported a draw of -3,115 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. In contrast, the market expected a build of +80 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $88.55 from $88.34 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 3.20 MMBbls (0.7%) to last year, and a deficit of 12.50 MMBbls (-2.8%) to the five-year average.
