US crude stocks and distillate inventories fell while gasoline stockpiles rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels to 410.6 million barrels in the week ended October 23, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 15,000-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 624,000 barrels, the EIA said.
Oil futures held onto gains following the report. Global Brent crude futures were trading at $115.55 a barrel, up $1.67, at 10:39 a.m. ET (1439 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up $2.44 a barrel, at $102.34.
Refinery crude runs fell by 123,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.6 percentage points in the week to 92.8%.
U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 3.9 million barrels in the week to 209.2 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.9 million-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week to 102.8 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.9 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 796,000 barrels per day, EIA said.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver and Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )