US oil stocks drop for first time since January: EIA

[NEW YORK] US crude stocks fell last week for the first time since the week ending Jan 2, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 1.5 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 12,000 barrels, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 247,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 1.7 percentage points.

Gasoline stocks rose by 401,000 barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 867,000-barrel gain.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a 117,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

US crude imports fell last week by 905,000 barrels per day.

REUTERS