US oil stockpiles rise for first time since April: EIA

[NEW YORK] US crude stocks rose last week for the first time since April, while gasoline stocks decreased and distillate inventories increased, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an decrease of 2 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 123,000 barrels, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs fell by 1,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 1 percentage points.

Gasoline stocks fell by 1.8 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 458,000-barrel gain.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 392,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 1.6-million-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.

US crude imports rose last week by 748,000 barrels per day.

REUTERS