NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels to 448.5 million barrels in the week ended March 1, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a a 2.1 million-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 701,000 barrels last week, the EIA said.
Refinery crude runs rose by 594,000 barrels per day, while refinery utilization rates rose by 3.4 percentage points in the week ended March 1, EIA data showed.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 4.5 million barrels in the week to 239.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.1 million barrels in the week to 117 million barrels, versus expectations for a 665,000 barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 928,000 barrels per day, EIA said. (Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York)
