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

March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks and distillate inventories rose while gasoline inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 6.9 million barrels to 456.2 million barrels in the week ended March 20, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 477,000-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 3.4 million barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 366,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI rose by 1.5 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 2.6 million barrels in the week to 241.4 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3 million barrels in the week to 119.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.3 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose last week by 846,000 barrels per day, EIA said.