The EIA reported a draw of -1,178 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was smaller than the average estimate of -2,440 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $73.28 from $73.31 just before 10:00 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 16.30 MMBbls (-3.8%) to last year, and a deficit of 22.80 MMBbls (-5.2%) to the five-year average.
