The EIA reported a draw of -5,073 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -1,380 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $69.92 from $70.05 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 22.30 MMBbls (-5.0%) to last year, and a deficit of 23.40 MMBbls (-5.2%) to the five-year average.
