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

DENVER, Jan 7 - U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels to 419.1 million barrels in the week ended January 2, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 447,000-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 728,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 62,000 barrels per day, the EIA said, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI were unchanged in the week at 94.7%.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 7.7 million barrels in the week to 242 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.2 million-barrel build.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 5.6 million barrels in the week to 129.3 million barrels, versus expectations for a 2.1 million-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose last week by 563,000 barrels per day, EIA said.

((liz.hampton@Thomsonreuters.com ))