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

Crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels in the week to March 25 to 410 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1 million-barrel drop.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1 million barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 35,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates rose by 1 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 785,000 barrels in the week to 238.8 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.7 million-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week to 113.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 629,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting By David Gaffen)