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

Crude inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels to 454.7 million barrels in the week ending May 24, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 million-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.8 million barrels, the EIA said.

Brent and U.S. oil futures extended losses after the report, trading down 0.5% on the day

Refinery crude runs rose by 601,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates rose by 2.6 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 2 million barrels in the week to 228.8 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.4 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.5 million barrels in the week to 119.3 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.1 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

U.S. gasoline futures were down 0.9%, dropping to the lowest point since February, after the report showed a surprise build.

Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 611,000 barrels per day, EIA said.

(Reporting by Nicole Jao; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)