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

Crude inventories rose by 3.6 million barrels in the last week to 421.9 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.8 million-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 1.9 million barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 164,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.9 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week to 223.5 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.6 million-barrel rise.​

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.4 million barrels in the week to 111.3 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.2 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 385,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Laura Sanicola)