U.S. crude, distillate inventories rose last week – EIA

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

Crude inventories rose by 5.9 million barrels in the last week to 458.1 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 500,000-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.6 million barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 629,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates rose by 2.6 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks fell by about 3,000 barrels in the week to 219.5 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 700,000 million-barrel drop.​

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.8 million barrels in the week to 118.2 million barrels, versus expectations for a 300,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 599,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Stephanie Kelly)