U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels in the week to April 21 to 460.9 million barrels, far exceeding analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel drop.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 319,000 barrels last week, the EIA said.
Refinery crude runs fell by 11,000 barrels per day and refinery utilization rates rose by 0.3 percentage point in the week.
Gasoline stocks fell by 2.4 million barrels to 221.1 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 900,000-barrel drop.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by almost 600,000 barrels in the week to 111.5 million barrels, less than forecasts for a 800,000-barrel draw, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 166,000 bpd, the EIA said.