U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 11 to 500 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 million-barrel drop.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 198,000 barrels in the last week, EIA said.
Refinery crude runs fell by 253,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.8 percentage points, in the week.
U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 1 million barrels in the week to 238.9 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel rise.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 167,000 barrels in the week to 151.3 million barrels, versus expectations for an 886,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports fell by 1.85 million barrels per day, EIA said.
Source: Reuters |
