The EIA reported a build of +7,919 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. In contrast, the market expected a draw of -1,112 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $69.35 from $69.61 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 48.70 MMBbls (11.6%) to last year, and a deficit of 1.30 MMBbls (-0.3%) to the five-year average.
