The EIA reported a draw of -9,233 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -908 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $74.84 from $75.13 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 27.80 MMBbls (-6.2%) to last year, and a deficit of 23.20 MMBbls (-5.2%) to the five-year average.
