EIA weekly US crude oil inventories +95K vs +597K expected

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly crude oil and petroleum product inventory report, showing a smaller-than-expected build in crude stockpiles and substantial drawdowns across refined products. U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose by 95,000 barrels for the week, coming in well below the expected increase of 597,000 barrels and easing sharply from the prior week's 4,405,000 barrel surge. Refined product stockpiles indicated robust demand, with gasoline inventories falling by 2.536 million barrels against an expected decline of 670,000 barrels. Distillate fuel inventories also fell significantly, posting a drop of 2.228 million barrels compared to the forecast decline of 1.570 million barrels. This official government data followed API figures that had estimated a 4.2 million barrel crude build. Ahead of the data release, WTI crude was trading at $81.63 per barrel, having recovered from an intraday low of $79.62 triggered by unconfirmed reports regarding a ceasefire in Iran.