U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week as refining activity and demand strengthened, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.Crude inventories fell by 961,000 barrels to 422.8 million barrels in the week ended October 17, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.2 million-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 770,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said. Oil futures fell following the report but remained in positive territory. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were trading $1.31 higher on the day at $62.63 a barrel by 10:59 a.m. EDT (1459 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up $1.38 at $58.62 a barrel.

“Higher demand from refineries helped to have a crude draw, while rebounding implied oil demand saw another set of product draws,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS. Refinery crude runs rose by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), the EIA said, and utilization rates rose by 2.9 percentage points in the week to 88.6% of total capacity.

Utilization rates on the U.S. East Coast edged up to 93.7%, the highest rate since January 2023, according to the EIA.29dk2902l

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.1 million barrels in the week to 216.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for an 809,000-barrel draw.​ Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week to 115.6 million barrels, versus forecasts for a 1.9 million-barrel drop, the data showed.

Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, rose by 288,000 bpd to 20.01 million bpd. Total product demand over the past four weeks was at 20.47 million bpd, down 0.1% from year-ago levels. “We have got total oil demand above 20 million bpd. Very impressive for shoulder season. It shows the demand side of equation of oil is robust,” said Phil Flynn, a senior analyst with Price Futures Group. Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 656,000 bpd, the EIA said. Exports declined by 263,000 bpd to 4.2 million bpd.

Source: Reuters reported by Liz Hampton in Denver and Georgina McCartney in Houston and edited by Marguerita Choy