U.S. Crude Stockpiles Fall Less Than Expected - EIA

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

Crude inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for a decrease of 3.3 million barrels.

"The report was negative for prices with the smaller-than-expected drawdown in crude oil inventories and the decent sized rise in refined product inventories," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York. "Refiner demand for crude oil remains high, however, as does consumer demand for gasoline."

Crude production declined 100,000 barrels per day to 10.8 million bpd in the week, according to the report. The drop followed a monthly report from EIA that showed oil production is growing slower than previously expected in 2018.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 590,000 barrels, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 118,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.5 percentage point.

Gasoline stocks rose by 2.9 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.7 million barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.2 million barrels, versus expectations for a 220,000 barrels increase, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 358,000 barrels per day.

U.S. exports rose 540,000 bpd in the week to 1.9 million bpd. 

Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault