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

NEW YORK, April 23 (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 244,000 barrels to 443.1 million barrels in the week ended April 18, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 770,000-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI fell by 86,000 barrels last week, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 325,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI rose by 1.8 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 4.5 million barrels in the week to 229.5 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.4 million barrels in the week to 106.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 30,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose by 1.14 million barrels per day, EIA said.