NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil stockpiles unexpectedly fell last week as demand from domestic refiners increased, while gasoline and distillate supplies rose much more than expected, federal government data on Wednesday showed.
Meanwhile, weekly crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for NYMEX crude, were up 500,000 barrels at 21.8 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report.
Commercial stockpiles of crude oil fell 4.8 million barrels to 306.8 million barrels in the week ended May 30, EIA said. Analysts had forecast an increase of 800,000 barrels.
The drop came as demand for crude from U.S. refiners rose 183,000 barrels per day to 15.48 million bpd, according to the report. U.S. refinery utilization surged 1.8 percentage points to 89.7 percent of capacity last week, compared with the projected increase of 0.4 percentage point.
Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline inventories rose 2.9 million barrels to 209.1 million barrels last week, by far topping expectations for supplies to have risen by 400,000 barrels.
Supplies of distillate fuels, which include heating oil and diesel, increased 2.3 million barrels to 111.7 million barrels. That topped analysts' forecasts for a rise of 1.4 million barrels.
Meanwhile, weekly crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for NYMEX crude, were up 500,000 barrels at 21.8 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report.
Commercial stockpiles of crude oil fell 4.8 million barrels to 306.8 million barrels in the week ended May 30, EIA said. Analysts had forecast an increase of 800,000 barrels.
The drop came as demand for crude from U.S. refiners rose 183,000 barrels per day to 15.48 million bpd, according to the report. U.S. refinery utilization surged 1.8 percentage points to 89.7 percent of capacity last week, compared with the projected increase of 0.4 percentage point.
Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline inventories rose 2.9 million barrels to 209.1 million barrels last week, by far topping expectations for supplies to have risen by 400,000 barrels.
Supplies of distillate fuels, which include heating oil and diesel, increased 2.3 million barrels to 111.7 million barrels. That topped analysts' forecasts for a rise of 1.4 million barrels.
