U.S. crude stocks and distillate inventories fell while gasoline inventories rose in the week ending May 2, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 2 million barrels to 438.4 million barrels last week, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 833,000-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 740,000 barrels, the EIA said.

Crude futures extended losses, despite the larger-than-expected draw. Brent futures were down about 44 cents trading at $61.73 a barrel at 10:28 a.m. EDT (1428 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading at $58.72 a barrel, down 36 cents.

Refinery crude runs fell by 7,000 barrels per day, while utilization rates (USOIRU=ECI) rose by 0.4 percentage points to 89% in the week, the EIA said.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 200,000 barrels in the week to 225.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.1 million barrels in the week to 106.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.3 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 673,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters