U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week as imports dropped and refining rates jumped, while gasoline and distillate inventories also declined, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said March 21.
Crude inventories fell 2.6 million barrels (bbl) in the week to March 16, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 2.6 million bbl.
Stocks at the Cushing, Okla., delivery hub for U.S. crude futures rose 905,000 bbl, EIA said.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures extended gains after the report, and were up $1.26/bbl at $64.80 by 9:58 a.m. CDT (14:58 GMT). Brent crude increased $1.64 to $69.06/bbl.
"The report was supportive of prices, as a large jump up in the refinery utilization rate and lowered crude oil imports combined to cause a net drawdown," said John Kilduff, partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital LLC in New York.
The bullish report was somewhat tempered by U.S. crude production, which climbed to a fresh record of 10.4 million bbl/d in the week.
Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 594,000 bbl/d.
Refinery crude runs rose 410,000 bbl/d and refinery utilization rates jumped 1.7 percentage points to 91.7% of total capacity, EIA data showed.
"Refinery runs continue to exude strength. They are nearly a million barrels per day higher than year-ago levels, led by Gulf Coast refining activity knocking on the door of 9 million barrels per day," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData in Louisville, Ky.
Gasoline stocks fell 1.7 million bbl, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2 million bbl drop.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 2 million bbl, vs. expectations for a 1.7 million bbl drop, the EIA data showed.
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