The EIA reported a draw of -4,304 MBbls in U.S. crude-oil inventories. The draw was larger than the average estimate of -3,128 as reported by Bloomberg.
Prices were down in the five minutes following the announcement, to $63.54 from $63.68 just before 09:30 AM.
Inventories for the U.S. are now at a deficit of 19.50 MMBbls (-4.3%) to last year, and a deficit of 32.10 MMBbls (-6.9%) to the five-year average.
