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

Crude inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week to Jan. 21 to 416.2 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.7 million-barrel drop.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.8 million barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 44,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.4 percentage points, in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 1.3 million barrels in the week to 247.9 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.5 million-barrel rise.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week to 125.2 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.3 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 695,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By David Gaffen)