US oil and fuel stockpiles rise unexpectedly last week: EIA

[NEW YORK] US crude, gasoline and distillate inventories all rose in the last week, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

The crude and gasoline builds were unexpected, and sent futures prices tumbling.

Crude inventories rose by 384,000 barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an decrease of 700,000 barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 299,000 barrels, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 65,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.3 percentage points.

Gasoline stocks rose by 1.2 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 254,000 barrels drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 860,000 barrels increase, the EIA data showed.

US crude imports fell last week by 197,000 barrels per day.

REUTERS