U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell by more than expected last week as refineries ramped up activity, while distillate stocks rose, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

Global Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose following the report. Brent futures were trading at $85.11 a barrel, up 45 cents, at 1513 GMT. WTI futures were trading at $82.06 a barrel, up 65 cents.

Crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels to 445.1 million barrels in the week ended July 5, the EIA said on Wednesday, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub (USOICC=ECI), opens new tab fell by 702,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs (USOICR=ECI), opens new tab rose by 317,000 barrels per day, while utilization rates (USOIRU=ECI), opens new tab rose by 1.9 percentage points in the week, the EIA said. Gulf Coast refinery utilization hit its highest since June 2023.

“A rebound in refinery runs last week helped usher in a crude inventory draw,” said Kpler analyst Matt Smith.

“Despite higher refining activity, gasoline inventories drew amid ongoing strong implied demand ahead of the long holiday weekend,” Smith said.

U.S. gasoline stocks (USOILG=ECI), opens new tab fell by 2 million barrels in the week to 229.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.6 million-barrel draw.​

Oil prices edged lower on Monday, reversing course after four weeks of gains, as hopes of a ceasefire deal in Gaza eased worries of tightening supply.

Distillate stockpiles (USOILD=ECI), opens new tab, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.9 million barrels in the week to 124.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.8 million-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.

Even with the decline in gasoline stocks, some market participants remained concerned about demand.

“While there was some solidness to gasoline demand, we know that it’s all downhill from here,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. “There’s a real warning flag over the distillate number.”

U.S. diesel futures and gasoline futures pared losses after the report.

Net U.S. crude imports (USOICI=ECI), opens new tab rose last week by 615,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nicole Jao; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)