U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels in the week to Jan. 7 to 413.3 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 million-barrel drop.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 2.5 million barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs fell by 294,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said. Refinery utilization rates fell by 1.4 percentage points in the week

U.S. gasoline stock rose by 8 million barrels in the week to 240.8 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.4 million-barrel rise.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.5 million barrels in the week to 129.4 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.8 million-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 784,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By David Gaffen)