The EIA reported a draw of -1,694 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. In contrast, the market expected a build of +119 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $77.16 from $77.07 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 66.70 MMBbls (16.2%) to last year, and a surplus of 32.10 MMBbls (7.2%) to the five-year average.
