The EIA reported a draw of -2,492 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -426 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $73.41 from $73.58 just before 10:00 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 16.90 MMBbls (-3.8%) to last year, and a deficit of 12.40 MMBbls (-2.8%) to the five-year average.
