U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories fell last week, while distillate stockpiles rose, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude stocks fell by 846,000 barrels to 425.2 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 23, data showed, far less than analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.3 million-barrel draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 668,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.
Global benchmark Brent and U.S. crude futures extended losses after the data showed the lower-than-expected draw.
Refinery crude runs rose by 175,000 barrels per day (bpd), and refinery utilization rates rose by 1 percentage point to 93.3 per cent of total capacity.
Gasoline stocks fell by 2.2 million barrels in the week to 218.4 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with forecasts for a 1.6 million-barrel draw.
U.S. gasoline futures pared losses following the data.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 300,000 barrels in the week to 123.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.1 million-barrel drop, the data showed.
U.S. heating oil futures extended their losses after the data.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 282,000 bpd, the EIA said.