The EIA reported a draw of -1,952 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -444 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $81.86 from $82.06 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 36.00 MMBbls (-7.5%) to last year, and a deficit of 13.20 MMBbls (-2.9%) to the five-year average.
