U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.
Crude inventories rose by 3.5 million barrels to 442.9 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 16, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.9 million-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 741,000 barrels last week to 29.5 million, the EIA said.
Gasoline stocks fell by 294,000 barrels in the week to 247 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ forecasts for a 2.1 million-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, were down by 4 million barrels in the week to 121.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.7 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Refinery crude runs rose by 31,000 barrels per day, and refinery utilization rates were unchanged at 80.6% in the week.
Net U.S. crude imports fell by 434,000 bpd, the EIA said.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton Editing by Marguerita Choy)