U.S. crude oil stocks rise unexpectedly; products also up

U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly last week even as refineries hiked output, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an decrease of 1.6 million barrels.

Refinery crude runs rose by 275,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed, bolstered by a 4.1 percentage point rise in Gulf Coast refinery output, data showed.

U.S. oil prices , buoyed in recent weeks by sectarian fighting in Iraq, were little moved by the data, shrugging off the build in stocks and inching into positive territory after the report.

"The reason why the market wasn't too much in shock is that the government data confirms what the API report showed yesterday," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday said that crude inventories had risen 4 million barrels last week.
Gasoline stocks rose by 710,000 barrels, according to the EIA, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5-million barrel gain.

Distillate stockpiles , which include diesel and heating oil, increased by 1.2 million barrels, versus expectations for a 900,000-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 416,000 barrels, EIA said.

U.S. crude imports fell last week by 92,000 barrels per day.

Source: Reuters