US crude, fuel inventories rose in the week ended December 19, EIA says

By Liz Hampton

DENVER, Dec 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate inventories rose in the week ended December 19 as refining activity slowed and imports declined, the Energy Information Administration said on Monday.

Crude inventories rose by 405,000 barrels to 424.8 million barrels in the week ended December 19, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.4 million-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 707,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said. The hub remains close to operationally low levels despite the uptick, Kpler analyst Matt Smith said.

Monday's data release was delayed over six hours and released after the oil market had closed. Global Brent crude futures LCOc1 had settled up $1.30 at $61.94 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 settled at $58.08 a barrel, up $1.34.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI fell by 212,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 0.2% to 94.6%.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 2.86 million barrels in the week to 228.5 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.1 million-barrel rise.

The increase in gasoline stocks was due to softer demand compared to the prior week, Smith said.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, climbed by 202,000 barrels in the week to 118.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 440,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed. Distillate fuel stocks in the U.S. Gulf Coast refining hub hit their highest level since August 2021, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose by 609,000 barrels per day 2.47 million bpd. Meanwhile, exports of total petroleum products hit a record high of 7.77 million barrels, the EIA data showed.