U.S. crude oil stockpiles last week rose less than expected as refining rates picked up sharply, data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose for a sixth week in a row, building by 1.4 million barrels to 448.5 million barrels in the week ended March 1, the EIA said. Analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll a 2.1 million-barrel rise.
Refinery crude runs rose by 594,000 barrels per day, while refinery utilization rates jumped by 3.4 percentage points to 84.9% of total capacity, data showed.
Oil benchmarks rose after the data, with Brent futures trading at $83.70 a barrel, up by $1.66 or 2%, by 10:44 a.m. ET (1544 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $2.09, or 2.7%, to $80.24 a barrel.
U.S. gasoline futures rose 1.7% and ultra-low sulfur diesel futures rose 2.6%.
Gasoline stocks fell by 4.5 million barrels in the week to 239.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 1.6 million-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.1 million barrels in the week to 117 million barrels, versus expectations for a 665,000 barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 701,000 barrels last week, the EIA said.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 928,000 bpd, the EIA said.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York Editing by Marguerita Choy)