US crude stocks rise, fuel inventories fall as total exports hit record, EIA says

By Liz Hampton and Arathy Somasekhar

DENVER, April 22 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week as supply disruptions tied to the Iran war drove total exports to record levels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 1.9 million barrels to 465.7 million barrels in the week ended April 17, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.2-million-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 806,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Oil prices rose despite a surprise build in stockpiles. Global Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $101.28 a barrel, up $2.80 at 10:55 a.m. ET (1455 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 were trading up $2.54 a barrel, at $92.21.

Total exports of crude oil and petroleum products climbed by 137,000 barrels per day to a record 12.88 million bpd, while exports of refined products rose by 564,000 bpd to 8.08 million bpd.

"What we're seeing is companies looking to the U.S. for supplies as a result of the closure of the strait," said Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates, referring to the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI fell by 55,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI dropped by 0.5 percentage point to 89.1%.

Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, fell by 1.07 million bpd to 19.7 million bpd.

"I do think that probably over the next several weeks you will see consumers trying to drive a little bit less," Lipow added, pointing to higher fuel prices that are likely to hit demand.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 4.6 million barrels to 228.4 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5-million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, dropped by 3.4 million barrels in the week to 108.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 2.5-million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed. Stockpiles on the U.S. Gulf Coast were at their lowest level since March 2025.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose by 1.21 million barrels per day, the EIA said, while exports fell by 427,000 bpd to 4.8 million bpd.