US crude stocks, gasoline and distillate inventories fall - EIA

By Liz Hampton

DENVER, May 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.

Crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels to 440.4 million barrels in the week ending May 23, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 118,000-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 75,000 barrels, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI fell by 162,000 barrels per day in the week ended May 23, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 0.5 percentage points in the week, the EIA said.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 2.4 million barrels in the week to 223.1 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.5 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 0.7 million barrels in the week to 103.4 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.5 million-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI fell last week by 532,000 barrels per day, EIA said.