The United States crude oil and distillate inventories fell, while gasoline stocks rose, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 1.3 million barrels in the week ending April 28 to 459.6 million barrels, ahead of analysts’ expectations, who, according to a Reuters poll, had expected a drop of 1.1 million barrels.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery center rose by 541,000 barrels during the week, according to the EIA.
The production of crude oil in the refineries fell by 98,000 barrels per day, while refinery utilization rates fell 0.6 percentage points to 90.7% of total capacity.
Stocks of gasoline They increased by 1.7 million barrels to 222.9 million barrels, according to the EIA, against forecasts for a decline of 1.2 million barrels.
Distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.2 million barrels to 110.3 million barrels, according to EIA data, compared with forecasts for a decline of 1.1 million barrels.
The net imports of US crude oil increased last week by 102,000 bpd.
