U.S. crude oil and product stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week, an extended Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

Six analysts polled by Reuters estimated that crude inventories on average fell by about 2 million barrels in the week to May 24.

The poll was conducted ahead of reports from the American Petroleum Institute industry group, due at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Wednesday, and the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, due at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Thursday.

Crude inventories rose by 1.8 million barrels to 458.8 million barrels in the week ending May 17, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.5 million-barrel draw.

Analysts estimated stockpiles of gasoline dropped about 500,000 barrels last week, while distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, were expected to have decreased by about 200,000 barrels.

The rate of refinery utilization was estimated to increase by 0.3 percentage point from 91.7% of total capacity in the previous week, the poll found.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Will Dunham)