U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell more than expected last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 3.7 million barrels to 436.5 million barrels in the week ended July 19, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.7 million barrels, the EIA said.
Refinery crude runs fell by 521,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.
Refinery utilization rates fell by 2.1 percentage points in the week.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 5.6 million barrels in the week to 227.4 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 400,000.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.8 million barrels in the week to 125.3 million barrels, versus expectations for a 250,000-barrel build, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 388,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney)