The EIA reported a draw of -1,362 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was smaller than the average estimate of -2,500 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $78.14 from $78.19 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 2.60 MMBbls (-0.6%) to last year, and a deficit of 14.10 MMBbls (-3.0%) to the five-year average.
