(Updates to include price reaction, adds background on refinery data) U.S. crude oil and distillate inventories rose last week, while gasoline stockpiles fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels to 426.7 million barrels in the week ending July 25, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 690,000 barrels, the EIA said.
Crude futures edged lower following the surprise and large build, but then recovered. Brent crude futures were trading at $72.44 a barrel, up 26 cents by 10:38 a.m. EDT (1439 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures up 28 cents at $69.49 a barrel.
Refinery crude runs fell by 25,000 barrels per day, while utilization rates fell by 0.1 percentage point in the week to 95.4% of capacity.
Last week’s refinery data was corrected by the EIA, which
said the utilization rate reported for the Rocky Mountain region in recent weeks was inaccurate. The error was based on capacity data in the April Petroleum Supply Monthly report, which ran at the end of June. The EIA is working to correct the issue in its next PSM report, due July 31, an EIA spokesperson said.
Gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels in the week to 228.4 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 600,000-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.6 million barrels in the week to 113.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a 300,000-barrel rise, the data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports rose by 1.32 million barrels per day, the EIA said.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Marguerita Choy)