The EIA reported a draw of -3,741 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -1,545 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were slightly down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $77.69 from $77.76 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 20.40 MMBbls (-4.5%) to last year, and a deficit of 22.50 MMBbls (-4.9%) to the five-year average.
