EIA: Gasoline, distillate stockpiles drop in US amid high demand for fuels

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) -- US crude oil stocks rose last week rose to record highs for a fifth straight week while gasoline inventories fell amid strong demand for the motor fuel, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories increased 1.3 million bbl in the week to March 11 to 523.2 million, a much smaller build than the 3.4 million-bbl increase expected by analysts.

It was also lower than the 1.5 million-bbl build reported on Tuesday by industry group, the American Petroleum Institute.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for US crude oil futures rose 545,000 bbl, hitting a fresh all-time high of 67.5 million, EIA said.

US crude futures held gains after the smaller-than-expected build and as traders focused on confirmation that major producers will meet next month to discuss plans to freeze output to help to erode the global glut.

By 10:55 a.m. EDT (1455 GMT), US futures were up 3.7% at $37.71/bbl.

"The data is moderately bullish with crude builds less than expected, coupled with strong gasoline demand driven by lower prices at the pump," said Chris Jarvis, analyst at Caprock Risk Management in Frederick, Maryland.

Gasoline demand over the past four weeks was up 6.4% from a year ago at 9.4 million bpd.

Still stocks of the motor fuel fell 747,000 bbl, compared with analysts' expectations for a 2.3 million-bbl drop.

Analysts said the smaller-than-expected draw struck a bearish note, with gasoline futures erasing most of their earlier gains, last trading 0.6% higher at $1.4161/gal, off an intraday high of $1.4356.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 1.1 million bbl, in line with expectations, the EIA data showed.

Refinery crude runs rose by 85,000 bpd and refinery utilization rates fell by 0.1 percentage point to 89% of total capacity.