US crude stocks, gasoline and distillate inventories fall, EIA says

Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 607,000 barrels to 414.8 million barrels in the week ended September 19, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 235,000-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 177,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Oil futures held in positive territory following the report. Global Brent futures LCOc1 were trading at $68.51 a barrel, up 88 cents at 10:40 a.m. EDT (1440 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 was trading at $64.26 a barrel, up 85 cents.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 52,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 0.3 percentage points in the week to 93%.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 1.1 million barrels in the week to 216.6 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 150,000 barrel build.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week to 123 million barrels, versus expectations for a 494,000 barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose by 1.6 million barrels per day, the EIA said.