US gasoline, distillate stocks fall as run rates rise
3/30/2016 12:00:00 AM
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - US crude oil stockpiles rose less than expected last week as imports fell and refinery runs rose, while gasoline and distillate inventories drew down, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose 2.3 million bbl in the week to March 25 to 534.8 million bbl, the seventh week at record high levels, but the build was smaller than analysts' expectations for an increase of 3.3 million bbl.
US crude imports fell 636,000 bpd to 7.4 million bpd.
"(The) Large decline in imports likely contributed to the smaller-than-expected crude oil build," said Dominic Chirichella, senior partner of the Energy Management Institute. "Most of crude import decline was in Gulf Coast."
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for futures fell 272,000 bbl, the EIA said. The decline marked the second weekly draw after the hub hit record highs.
Oil prices extended their gains after the data. US crude futures rose $1.02, or 2.5%, to $39.30/bbl, and Brent was up $1.03, or 2.6%, at $40.17 by 11:02 a.m. (1502 GMT).
Refinery crude runs rose 414,000 bpd and refinery utilization rates rose 2 percentage points to 90.4% of total capacity, the highest rate seasonally since 2005.
"The escalation in runs says there's more juice on the way, headed for the products tanks," said Donald Morton, energy trader at Herbert J. Sims & Co in Fairfield, Connecticut. "I'll be careful with any length given the product builds coming."
Gasoline stocks fell 2.5 million bbl, close to forecasts for a 2.2 million-bbl drop.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 1.1 million bbl, versus expectations for a 29,000-bbl build, the EIA data showed.
(Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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