U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fall, distillate stocks rise: EIA

U.S. crude oil and gasoline stockpiles fell while distillate inventories rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 1.7 million barrels to 478.5 million barrels in the week ending March 3, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.4 million-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub fell by 890,000 barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs fell by 12,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.2 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 1.1 million barrels in the week to 238.1 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 million-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 0.1 million barrels in the week to 122.3 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports rose by 2.33 million barrels per day, EIA said.