The EIA reported a draw of -1,017 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -830 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were up in the five minutes following the announcement, to $74.78 from $74.77 just before 11:00 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a surplus of 11.70 MMBbls (-2.8%) to last year, and a deficit of 28.00 MMBbls (-6.4%) to the five-year average.
