Oil stocks fall most since July as refineries lift output: EIA

[NEW YORK] US crude stocks fell the most since July last week as refineries hiked output, while gasoline stocks decreased and distillate inventories rose, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 6.8 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an decrease of 1.7 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.024 million barrels, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 169,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 1.4 percentage points.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.9 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 280,000-barrel gain.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 865,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 1.3-million-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.

US crude imports fell last week by 750,000 barrels per day.

REUTERS