The EIA reported a draw of -12,581 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -2,907 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $80.74 from $80.85 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 14.20 MMBbls (-3.3%) to last year, and a deficit of 35.50 MMBbls (-7.8%) to the five-year average.
