The EIA reported a draw of -4,491 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -413 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $88.07 from $88.24 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 17.90 MMBbls (-4.1%) to last year, and a deficit of 21.20 MMBbls (-4.8%) to the five-year average.
