US crude oil stocks edge up, gasoline and distillate inventories fall

U.S. crude oil inventories rose slightly in the week ending August 21, while gasoline and distillate stocks declined, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Commercial crude inventories increased by about 95,000 barrels to 428.9 million barrels, well below the 597,000-barrel build forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts. Stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub climbed by roughly 1.2 million barrels over the same period. Refinery crude runs edged down by 2,000 barrels per day, but the refinery utilization rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 97.4%. Gasoline inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels to 206.8 million barrels, a much larger drop than the 700,000-barrel draw analysts had expected. Distillate stocks, which include diesel and fuel oil, decreased by 2.2 million barrels to 103.4 million barrels. U.S. net crude imports declined by 161,000 barrels per day during the week, the EIA data showed.