U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 5.8 million barrels to 415.1 million barrels in the week ending June 20, the EIA said, exceeding analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 797,000-barrel draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 464,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said. Oil prices rose following the larger-than-expected decline in stockpiles. Global benchmark Brent futures were trading at $67.88 a barrel, up 73 cents, by 10:39 a.m. EDT (1439 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose 70 cents to $65.06 a barrel. Refinery crude runs rose by 125,000 barrels per day, the EIA said, while utilization rates rose by 1.5 percentage points to 94.7% of total capacity.
Gasoline stocks fell by 2.1 million barrels to 227.9 million barrels, also more than analysts’ expectations for a 381,000-barrel build. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.1 million barrels to 105.3 million barrels, versus forecasts for a 410,000-barrel rise, the data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 531,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.
(Editing by Marguerita Choy)