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

Crude inventories fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 31 to 417.9 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.3 million-barrel drop.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 2.6 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 USOIRU=ECI rose by 0.1 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 10.1 million barrels in the week to 232.8 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.8 million-barrel rise.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.4 million barrels in the week to 126.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 500,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By David Gaffen)