The EIA reported a build of +1,550 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The build was larger than the average estimate of +417 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $68.70 from $68.83 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 64.80 MMBbls (15.6%) to last year, and a surplus of 31.10 MMBbls (6.9%) to the five-year average.
