NEW YORK, Oct 2(Reuters) - U.S. crude oil inventories rose less than expected last week while oil product stockpiles fell slightly, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.
Crude inventories rose 462,000 barrels in the week to Sept. 28, compared with analysts' expectations for a build of 1.5 million barrels, the API reported.
The build came even as U.S. crude imports during the week fell by 275,000 barrels per day to 8.68 million bpd, the API data showed.
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Reuters poll of analysts forecast crude draw
API weekly US oil stocks and output by PADD
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U.S. distillate stocks fell by 321,000 barrels, after analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 400,000 barrel decline. On the U.S. East Coast, distillate stockpiles were down by 154,000 barrels. In the Midwest region, they fell by a larger 1.5 million barrels.
U.S gasoline inventories fell by 59,000 barrels, compared with analyst forecasts for a drop of 600,000 barrels.
Refinery utilization rose to 88.1 percent of capacity last week, versus 86.9 percent in the previous week, according to the API. Analysts had forecast a 0.1 percentage point drop in utilization.
Brent crude was down by 86 cents from Monday at $111.33 a barrel at 4:37 p.m. EDT (2037 GMT), after settling earlier on Tuesday at $111.57. Prices were little changed after the API data.
Crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. oil futures , rose by 105,000 barrels, API data showed.
(Reporting by Joshua Schneyer; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)
((joshua.schneyer@thomsonreuters.com)(646 223 6051))
Keywords: ENERGY STOCKS/API