NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks rose
unexpectedly last week while gasoline and distillate inventories
fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels
in the week to March 17 to 481.2 million barrels, compared with
analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6
million-barrel drop.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.1 million barrels last week, the EIA
said.
Refinery crude runs fell by 22,000 barrels per
day (bpd) and refinery utilization rates rose by
0.4 percentage point in the week.
Gasoline stocks fell by 6.4 million barrels to
229.6 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts'
expectations for a 1.7 million-barrel drop.?
Distillate stockpiles , which include diesel and
heating oil, fell by 3.3 million barrels in the week to 116.4
million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel
drop, the data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 51,000
bpd, the EIA said.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Messaging: stephanie.kelly.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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