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

DENVER, April 1 (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 5.5 million barrels to 461.6 million barrels in the week ended March 27, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 814,000-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 520,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI fell by 219,000 barrels per day, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 0.8 percentage points in the week, the EIA said.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 0.6 million barrels in the week to 240.9 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week to 117.8 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.6 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI fell last week by 209,000 barrels per day, EIA said.