The EIA reported a draw of -5,186 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -2,989 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $73.90 from $74.53 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 19.00 MMBbls (-4.4%) to last year, and a deficit of 39.60 MMBbls (-8.7%) to the five-year average.
