US crude stocks rise as Cushing storage maintains record: EIA

[NEW YORK] US crude inventories rose last week, while gasoline stockpiles declined and distillate inventories fell slightly, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 8.2 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 5.1 million barrels. The level of crude in storage in the US remained at an 80-year high for the eleventh consecutive week.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 1.91 million barrels, EIA said, building on last week's record high.

Refinery crude runs rose by 94,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.9 percentage points.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6-million-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 34,000 barrels versus expectations for a 833,000-barrel-drop, the EIA data showed.

US crude imports fell last week by 129,000 barrels per day.

REUTERS