U.S. crude stocks drop sharply, fuel inventories down – EIA

Reuters – U.S. crude stocks, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 8 million barrels in the week ended April 15 to 413.7 million barrels, compared with analysts expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.5 millionbarrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 185,000 barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 194,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery utilization rates rose by 1 percentage points in the week.

U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 761,000 barrels in the week to 232.4 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1 millionbarrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.7 million barrels in the week to 108.7 million barrels, versus expectations for an 829,000barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports fell by 2.25 million barrels per day, EIA said.