The EIA reported a build of +3,600 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The build was smaller than the average estimate of +4,291 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $77.44 from $77.52 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 3.30 MMBbls (0.8%) to last year, and a deficit of 10.80 MMBbls (-2.4%) to the five-year average.
