By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. crude stockpiles rose sharply, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.
Crude inventories rose by 4.5 million barrels in the week to Feb. 18 to 416 million barrels, the EIA said, much more than analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 400,000-barrel build.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub and delivery point for U.S. crude futures fell by 2 million barrels to 23.8 million barrels in the week, their lowest level since September 2018.
"The Cushing situation is getting worrisome," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC. "That's supportive of the contract."
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 623,000 barrels per day, the EIA said.
"The report is a mixed bag, with crude inventories showing a solid build amid a rebound in imports and fairly subdued refinery runs, although yet another draw at Cushing adds a supportive element," said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst for the Americas at Kpler.
The data did not have much impact on oil prices, which surged as Russia's attack on Ukraine exacerbated concerns about disruptions to global energy supply. Brent crude soared above $105 a barrel for the first time since 2014 after the invasion, and by 1639 GMT, was up $7.00, or 7.2%, at $103.84. WTI crude rose $4.95, or 5.4%, to $97.05 a barrel.
Refinery crude runs rose by 344,000 bpd and utilization rates rose by 2.1 percentage points to 87.4% of total capacity.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by about 600,000 barrels in the week to 246.48 million barrels, the EIA said, much less than forecasts for a 1.4 million-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by about 600,000 barrels in the week to 119.68 million barrels, the lowest level since November 2019. Analysts had expected a 1.8 million-barrel drop, EIA data showed.