The EIA reported a draw of -4,649 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -1,968 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $73.95 from $73.86 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 8.40 MMBbls (-1.9%) to last year, and a deficit of 21.60 MMBbls (-4.8%) to the five-year average.
