U.S. crude stocks rose more than twice as much as expected last week, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 10.3 million barrels in the last week to 444.37 million, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 4.2 million barrels.

"Overall, it's another bearish data point in an already bearish fundamental environment," said Dominick Chirichella, senior partner, Energy Management Institute, New York.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 536,000 barrels, EIA said.

U.S. Gulf Coast crude oil stockpiles last week reached their highest level since the EIA began keeping records in 1990, up 5.4 million barrels to 219.9 million barrels in the region with the majority of the nation's refining capacity.

"It shows that all the cuts in capex spending and rig counts have not been able to stop inventories from rising and eventually the big inventories are going to weigh on prices," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

Crude futures prices extended losses after the EIA report.

Brent April crude was down $1.14 at $59.88 a barrel at 11:01 a.m. EST. U.S. April crude was down 72 cents at $49.80 a barrel.

Total utilization of crude oil storage capacity in the United States stood at approximately 60 percent as of Feb. 20, the EIA said in a separate report on Wednesday, compared with 48 percent in the same period in 2014.

Cushing capacity was about 67 percent full on Feb. 20, compared with 50 percent in the year-ago period, the EIA said. However, the estimate may be considered conservative because of engineering limitations on the amount of capacity the tanks at Cushing can hold.

Refinery crude runs fell by 130,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.8 percentage points.

Capacity utilization on the East Coast, the region with the New York harbor delivery point for U.S. refined products futures contracts, fell 8.8 percentage points to 62.2 percent, the EIA said.

Gasoline stocks were little changed, up 46,000 barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9-million-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 2.7-million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

U.S. crude imports rose last week by 89,000 barrels per day.

Source - www.reuters.com

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