The EIA reported a build of +5,474 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The build was larger than the average estimate of +729 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $70.94 from $71.04 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 5.10 MMBbls (1.2%) to last year, and a deficit of 16.50 MMBbls (-3.7%) to the five-year average.
