Lower US refining production adds to crude build

NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) -- US crude oil stockpiles rose last week to a fresh record high as lower refinery production offset a drop in imports, while distillate inventories fell more than expected, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose 2 million bbl in the week to April 22, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 2.4 million bbl.

"The build in crude oil inventories, even though expected by most analysts, has dashed the bullish hopes that were fostered by the unexpected draw reported yesterday by the API," said David Thompson, executive vice-president at energy-specialized commodities broker Powerhouse in Washington, referring to a 1.1-MMbbl drawdown reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API) trade group late Tuesday.

Following the data, US crude turned negative, and was down 25 cents at $43.79/bbl at 11:01 a.m. (1501 GMT). Brent crude fell 0.5 cents to $45.69/bbl.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose 1.8 MMbbl, EIA said.

US crude imports fell last week by 688,000 bpd.

Refinery crude runs fell 257,000 bpd, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates dropped 1.3 percentage points to 88.1% of capacity.

"A drop in refinery utilization helped to offset lower imports, leading to a solid build to crude inventories," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at New York-headquartered energy data provider ClipperData. "Despite lower refinery runs, gasoline stocks still showed a build, with throughput edging lower on the prior week."

Gasoline stocks rose 1.6 MMbbl, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 400,000-bbl drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 1.7 million bbl, significantly more than the 314,000-bbl drop expected, the EIA data showed.