The US Energy Information Administration announced Thursday that crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States fell last week, while gasoline inventories rose. The administration, which is the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, said in a statement that crude inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels in the week compared to expectations, a decrease of 993 thousand barrels. It added that crude inventories at the delivery center in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 1.1 million barrels last week. Refinery crude consumption rose by 36 thousand barrels per day, while refinery operating rates stabilized during the week. The Energy Information Administration said that gasoline inventories in the United States rose by 0.8 million barrels in the week to 219.2 million barrels, a decrease of 0.7 million barrels from expectations. The data showed that stockpiles of petroleum products, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 0.4 million barrels in the week to 12 2.7 million barrels, compared with expectations for a rise of 0.5 million barrels. The US Energy Information Administration said net US crude imports fell last week by 853,000 barrels per day. Source: Qatar News Agency