US crude stockpiles rose unexpectedly

NEW YORK: US crude stocks rose unexpectedly last week as refinery runs dropped, while gasoline and distillate inventories increased, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 3.3 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an decrease of 3.5 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.444 million barrels, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs fell by 283,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.9 percentage points.

Gasoline stocks rose by 3.3 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 580,000 barrels gain. Gasoline blendstock futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell about 4 percent after the data was released.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.4 million barrels, versus expectations for a 281,000 barrels increase, the EIA data showed.

US crude imports rose last week by 1.102 million barrels per day.