The EIA reported a draw of -3,739 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was smaller than the average estimate of -1,612 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $80.41 from $80.49 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 57.90 MMBbls (14.1%) to last year, and a surplus of 17.10 MMBbls (3.8%) to the five-year average.
