The EIA reported a draw of -1,281 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -482 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $68.82 from $69.00 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 44.10 MMBbls (10.6%) to last year, and a deficit of 7.90 MMBbls (-1.7%) to the five-year average.
