Doha: The US Energy Information Administration revealed Wednesday that crude oil inventories rose, while gasoline and distillate inventories declined last week.

According to Qatar News Agency, the EIA said in a statement that crude oil inventories increased by 2.6 million barrels, reaching 442.3 million barrels, compared to analysts' expectations of a 1.4 million barrel increase in the week ending April 4.

The EIA explained that crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 681,000 barrels, and refinery crude runs increased by 69,000 barrels per day. Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.7 percentage points during the week.

EIA data indicated that gasoline inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels last week, reaching 236 million barrels, compared to analysts' expectations of a 1.5 million barrel decrease.

Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, also fell by 3.5 million barrels, reaching 111.1 million barrels, compared to expectations for a 260,000-barrel increase.

The US Energy Information Administration reported that net crude imports into the United States rose by 360,000 barrels per day.