The EIA reported a build of +545 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The build was larger than the average estimate of -49 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $69.42 from $69.60 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 16.5 MMBbls (-3.7%) to last year, and a deficit of 20.30 MMBbls (-5.2%) to the five-year average.
