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

Crude inventories fell by 1 million barrels in the week to Jan. 28 to 415.1 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI fell by 1.2 million barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs fell by 249,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates fell by 1 percentage point, in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 2.1 million barrels in the week to 250 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel rise.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.4 million barrels in the week to 122.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports rose by 1.27 million barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By David Gaffen)