The EIA reported a draw of -3,690 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories.
The draw was larger than the average estimate of -2,488 as reported by Bloomberg. Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $76.86 from $77.72 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 2.20 MMBbls (-0.5%) to last year, and a deficit of 24.00 MMBbls (-5.3%) to the five-year average.
