The EIA reported a draw of -9,603 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -1,266 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $68.28 from $67.99 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 37.70 MMBbls (9.1%) to last year, and a deficit of 5.10 MMBbls (-1.1%) to the five-year average.
