The EIA reported a draw of -1,536 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. In contrast, the market expected a build of +307 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $79.39 from $79.42 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 32.80 MMBbls (-6.8%) to last year, and a deficit of 11.90 MMBbls (-2.6%) to the five-year average.
