U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week, while distillate and gasoline inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 451,000 barrels in the week to June 2, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1 million-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 1.7 million barrels last week, the EIA said.
Refinery crude runs rose by 482,000 barrels per day (bpd), while refinery utilization rates increased by 2.7 percentage points in the week.
Gasoline stocks rose by 2.7 million barrels in the week, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 880,000-barrel rise.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by nearly 5.1 million barrels in the week, versus expectations for a 1.3 million barrel rise, the EIA said.
Net U.S. crude imports rose by 1.6 million bpd, the data showed.