U.S. Crude Stocks Rise, Gasoline and Distillate Inventories Fall – EIA

U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell in the week ending March 29, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 3.2 million barrels to 451.4 million barrels last week, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel draw.

Oil futures pared gains after the report, with Brent futures trading 85 cents higher at $89.77 a barrel by 10:38 a.m. ET (1437 GMT). WTI futures were up 77 cents at $85.92 a barrel.

Both Brent and WTI futures had gained over $1 a barrel ahead of the report.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 377,000 barrels, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs fell by 35,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.

U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 4.3 million barrels in the week to 227.8 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 800,000-barrel draw.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.3 million barrels in the week to 116.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a roughly 600,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 75,000 barrels per day, EIA said.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney and Shariq Khan; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)