U.S. crude stocks rose last week as refineries hiked output, while gasoline stocks decreased and distillate inventories fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 1.6 million barrels in the last week, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 435,000 barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 1.4 million barrels, EIA said.
Refinery crude runs rose by 203,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 1.5 percentage points. Gasoline stocks fell by 618,000 barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4