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

DENVER, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels to 430.2 million barrels in the week ended February 21, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.6 million-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 1.3 million barrels in the week.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 317,000 barrels per day, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI rose by 1.6 percentage points in the week to 86.5%, the EIA said.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 0.4 million barrels in the week to 248.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.8 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.9 million barrels in the week to 120.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose last week by 292,000 barrels per day, EIA said.