The EIA reported a draw of -10,584 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -1,596 MBbl as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $81.97 from $81.87 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 4.10 MMBbls (1.0%) to last year, and a deficit of 13.40 MMBbls (-3.1%) to the five-year average.
