US crude oil stockpiles fell while gasoline inventories jumped last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 994,000 barrels in the week to Jan. 29 to 475.7 million barrels, their lowest since March. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a 446,000-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for US futures fell by 1.5 million barrels in the last week, the EIA said.
US gasoline stocks rose by 4.5 million barrels in the week to 252.2 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.1 million-barrel rise.?
Prices across the energy complex dipped slightly after the report. US crude futures were still up on the day, rising 1.8% to $55.76 a barrel, while Brent rose 1.8% to $58.47 a barrel. Oil prices are sitting near 11-month highs on anticipation of economic recovery and as crude-producing nations constrain supply.
US gasoline futures also pared gains after the data, but was last trading 1.7% higher on the day at $1.6432 a gallon.
Refinery crude runs fell by 80,000 barrels per day last week, as utilization rates rose by 0.6 percentage points, the EIA said.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 9,000 barrels in the week to 162.8 million barrels, versus expectations for a 429,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Net US crude imports rose by 1.3 million bpd, data showed.