New York, October 07 (QNA) - The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that oil and distillate inventories in the United States declined, while gasoline stocks increased over the past week.

The EIA, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, said in a report issued today that crude oil inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels to 424.1 million barrels in the week, compared with expectations for a decline of 1.7 million barrels.

It added that crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub increased by 444,000 barrels during the week, while refinery crude runs rose by 223,000 barrels per day and refinery utilization rates increased by 0.2 percentage points to 92.7 percent.

The data showed that US gasoline inventories rose by 0.4 million barrels to 204.7 million barrels, compared with expectations for a decline of 1.7 million barrels.

The EIA said distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, were little changed at 105.1 million barrels, compared with expectations for a decline of 2.1 million barrels. It added that US net crude imports fell by 53,000 barrels per day. (QNA)