US crude inventories fall by 3.2 million barrels, EIA reports

Crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels to 419 million barrels in the week ended July 18, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 455,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 87,000 barrels per day, the EIA said, while refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI rose by 1.6 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 1.7 million barrels last week to 231.1 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.9 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.9 million barrels in the week to 109.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.1 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI fell last week by 740,000 barrels per day, EIA said.