U.S. crude oil and distillate inventories fell unexpectedly last week, while gasoline stockpiles rose more than forecast, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 12.5 million barrels in the week to May 19 to 455.2 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 800,000-barrel rise.

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

Refinery crude runs rose by 79,000 barrels per day, while refinery utilization rates fell by 0.3 percentage point in the week.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week to 216.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 1.1 million-barrel drop.​

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 600,000 barrels to 105.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 400,000-barrel rise, EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports fell by 1.25 million bpd, the EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Laura Sanicola Editing by Marguerita Choy)