Washington: The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced Wednesday that crude oil inventories in the United States rose, while gasoline and distillate stocks declined last week.

According to Qatar News Agency, the EIA, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, explained in its report on Wednesday that crude oil inventories increased by 1.9 million barrels to 465.7 million barrels last week, compared to expectations of a 1.2-million-barrel decrease. The report indicated that crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 806,000 barrels.

It also noted that crude oil consumption at refineries decreased by 55,000 barrels per day, while refinery utilization rates fell by 0.5 percentage points. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US gasoline inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels last week to 228.4 million barrels, compared to expectations of a 1.5-million-barrel decline.

The EIA data also showed that distillate fuel inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.4 million barrels last week to 108.1 million barrels, compared to expectations of a 2.5-million-barrel drop. The EIA noted that net U.S. crude oil imports rose by 1.21 million barrels per day.