U.S. crude stockpiles drop as refineries restart: EIA

U.S. crude stocks fell last week as refineries hiked output because they restarted following Hurricane Harvey, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 1.8 million barrels in the week to Sept. 22, compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 3.4 million barrels. 

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 1.2 million barrels, EIA said. 

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 1 million barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI rose by 5.4 percentage points. 

Gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 1.1 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 921,000-barrel drop. 

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 814,000 barrels, versus expectations for a 2.2 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed. 

U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI fell last week by 504,000 barrels per day.