U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 515,000 barrels to 442.9 million barrels in the week ended April 11, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 507,000-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 654,000 barrels last week, the EIA said.
Refinery crude runs fell by 63,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.
Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.4 percentage points.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 2 million barrels in the week to 234 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.9 million barrels in the week to 109.2 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.2 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports fell by 2.04 million barrels per day, EIA said.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly)