OREANDA-NEWS. US crude stocks increased by 2.3mn bl to 534.8mn bl last week, a seventh consecutive week of builds, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The build was below most analyst expectations. Stocks had moved up by 9.4mn bl in the previous week.

US refiners processed about 16.2mn b/d in the week ended 25 March, up by 414,000 b/d from the previous week. Refineries operated at 90.4pc of capacity.

Imports fell by 636,000 b/d or nearly 8pc to about 7.7mn b/d. Over the last four weeks, crude imports averaged about 8mn b/d, or 9.8pc higher than the same period last year, the EIA said.

Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 272,000 bl to about 66mn bl.

US crude production dropped by 16,000 b/d to stay at about 9mn b/d. Output in the lower 48 states dropped by 27,000 b/d while production in Alaska moved up by 11,000 b/d.

Domestic output is showing signs of easing as producers have sharply cut back on drilling because of low crude prices. The US drilling rig count fell again last week, by 12 to 464, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. That is a new low since July 1987, when Baker Hughes began its survey.

Rigs drilling for oil fell by 15 to 372, resuming a decline after an increase by one in the previous week. Overall, the US rig count is down by about 56pc from a year earlier and down some 76pc from the peak in 2014.

Crude stocks increased in four of the five regions last week. The Gulf coast saw the largest build, rising by 1.9mn bl to about 281.9mn bl.

In refined products, gasoline inventories fell by 2.5mn bl to 242.6mn bl. Total distillate fuel stocks moved lower by about 1.1mn bl to stand at 161.2mn bl.