US crude stockpiles fall less than expected: EIA

[NEW YORK] US crude stocks fell less than expected last week, while gasoline rose unexpectedly and distillate inventories soared, the Department of Energy said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an decrease of 3 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 232,000 barrels, the Energy Information Administration said.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 256,000-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.

Gasoline stocks rose unexpectedly by 1.2 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 432,000-barrel drop.

Refinery crude runs fell by 143,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.2 percentage points.

US crude imports fell last week by 522,000 bpd.

REUTERS