(Reuters) – U.S. crude stocks, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 2.6 million barrels in the week to February 25 to 413.4 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.7 million-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 972,000 barrels in the last week, EIA said.
Refinery crude runs rose by 152,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said.
Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.3 percentage points in the week.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 468,000 barrels in the week to 246 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel drop.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 573,000 barrels in the week to 119 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.7 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports fell by 2.2 million barrels per day, EIA said.
(Reporting By David Gaffen)