US crude stocks fall, gasoline and distillate inventories rise - EIA

DENVER, Sept. 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 640,000 barrels to 423.4 million barrels in the week ended September 11, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI fell by 342,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI fell by 256,000 barrels per day last week, the EIA said, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 1 percentage point in the week to 96.8%.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 794,000 barrels in the week to 207.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1 million-barrel draw.

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.6 million barrels in the week to 107.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 71,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI fell by 1.18 million barrels per day, the EIA said.