US crude stockpiles fall as refining picks up, fuel inventories build, EIA says

Adds details from report, analyst commentary, milestones; updates prices

By Liz Hampton and Georgina McCartney

DENVER, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week as refining activity ticked higher, while gasoline and distillate inventories posted surprise builds, 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.

Stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for U.S. crude futures USOICC=ECI, however, rose by 1.3 million barrels to 24.6 million barrels, their highest since November.

The jump at the key storage hub comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is set to impose a 10% tariff on Canadian imports beginning March 4, a later deadline than originally expected.

"I think Canadian producers are trying their hardest to jam as many barrels as possible into the Mid-continent," said Mizuho analyst Robert Yawger.

Imports of Canadian crude into the U.S. climbed by 165,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week to 3.82 million bpd. That is still well below a record of 4.42 million bpd hit earlier this year when refiners thought the tariffs would be implemented sooner.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 26 cents to $72.76 a barrel by 10:58 a.m. EST (1558 GMT) following the report. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 were up 15 cents to $68.78 a barrel.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 317,000 bpd last week, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI increased by 1.6 percentage points to 86.5% of total capacity, the EIA said.

Gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 400,000 barrels in the week to 248.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for an 800,000-barrel draw.

U.S. East Coast gasoline inventories rose last week to their highest level since June 2021, while Midwest inventories were at their highest level in a year. ​

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.

U.S. heating oil futures HOc1 were down 2.6% at $2.329 a gallon following the report.

"It seems the market didn't like the distillate build, which might be also driven by lower refined product exports," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose last week by 292,000 bpd, the EIA said. Exports of total petroleum products fell last week to their lowest since October 2023.