The EIA reported a draw of -1,962 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -674 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $78.94 from $78.88 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 17.90 MMBbls (-4.2%) to last year, and a deficit of 27.40 MMBbls (-6.2%) to the five-year average.
