EIA: Crude and gasoline inventories fall, distillates rise
Crude inventories fell by 6 MMbbl to 420.7 MMbbl last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, compared with analysts' expectations in a poll for a 1.8-MMbbl draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 419,000 bbl in the week ended August 15, the EIA said.
Oil futures continued to trade in positive territory following the report. Global Brent benchmark futures LCOc1 were trading at $66.52 a barrel, up slightly more than 1% at 10:41 a.m. EDT (1441 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were trading at $63.01 a barrel, also up more than 1%.
Refinery crude runs rose by 28,000 bpd in the week last week, while utilization rates rose by 0.2% to 96.6%, the EIA said. U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 MMbbl in the week to 223.6 MMbbl, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a poll for a 915,000-bbl draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.3 MMbbl in the week to 116 MMbbl, versus expectations for a 928,000-bbl rise, the EIA data showed. Net U.S. crude imports fell by 1.22 MMbpd, the EIA said.
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