The EIA reported a draw of -3,443 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. In contrast, the market expected a build of +442 MBbls as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $81.91 from $81.58 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 12.20 MMBbls (-2.7%) to last year, and a deficit of 18.90 MMBbls (-4.1%) to the five-year average.
