The EIA reported a draw of -1,844 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -521 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $68.88 from $68.93 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 21.00 MMBbls (-4.7%) to last year, and a deficit of 20.60 MMBbls (-4.6%) to the five-year average.
