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

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 2.6 million barrels to 442.3 million barrels in the week ended April 4, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 681,000 barrels, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 69,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI rose by 0.7 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 1.6 million barrels in the week to 236 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.5 million barrels in the week to 111.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 260,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose last week by 360,000 barrels per day, EIA said.