US crude, gasoline stockpiles fall, distillates build, EIA says

By Liz Hampton and Stephanie Kelly

July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories fell last week, buoyed by stronger demand and exports, while distillate stockpiles rose, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels to 419 million barrels in the week ended July 18, the EIA said, double 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.

U.S. crude exports were up by 337,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 3.86 million bpd, while net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI fell last week by 740,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.

Oil futures pared earlier losses following the larger-than-expected draw. Global benchmark Brent futures LCOc1 were trading at $68.18 a barrel, down 41 cents, by 11:06 a.m. EDT (1506 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 fell 43 cents to $64.88 a barrel.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 87,000 barrels per day. Utilization rates in the Gulf Coast refinery hub hit a one-year high at 96.1%.

After the data was released, the EIA said in a statement the refinery utilization rate reported for the Rocky Mountain region was inaccurate. The error was based on capacity data reported in the April Petroleum Supply Monthly report, which ran at the end of June.

As a result, both the weekly total U.S. and Rocky Mountain refinery utilization data have been incorrect since June 30.

The EIA is working to correct the issue in its next PSM report, due July 31, an EIA spokesperson said.

Gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 1.7 million barrels last week to 231.1 million barrels, the EIA said, also nearly double expectations for a 908,000-barrel draw.

Product supplied of gasoline, a proxy for demand, rose by 478,000 bpd to 8.97 million bpd. The four-week average for product supplied was at 8.81 million bpd, versus 9.27 million bpd last year.

"Gasoline demand posted a bit of a positive vibe in this report," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho, while cautioning that demand numbers should still be higher for this time of year.

"Gasoline demand during the summer driving season has to be at 9 million bpd for the market to really succeed," he added.​

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

"The increase in the diesel supplies has eased some of the panic we’ve been seeing in the crack spread recently about tight supplies," said Phil Flynn, a senior analyst with Price Futures Group.