The EIA reported a draw of -2,547 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -1,982 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $82.31 from $82.21 just before 10:01 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 6.70 MMBbls (-1.5%) to last year, and a deficit of 15.90 MMBbls (-3.4%) to the five-year average.
