The EIA reported a build of +1,166 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The build was smaller than the average estimate of +1,351 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $77.26 from $76.83 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 66.40 MMBbls (16.0%) to last year, and a surplus of 38.70 MMBbls (8.8%) to the five-year average.
