Adds prices in paragraph 6, comments in paragraph 7

By Arathy Somasekhar and Liz Hampton

HOUSTON, July 22 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, as refinery runs eased and crude exports dropped while imports rose.

Crude inventories rose by 2 million barrels to 411.7 million barrels in the week ended July 17, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.1 million-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI fell by 674,000 barrels last week to 19.4 million barrels, the EIA said, dipping below the minimum operational levels estimated at about 20 million barrels.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI fell by 58,000 barrels per day (bpd) )in the week, the EIA said. Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 0.1 percentage points to 96.1%.

U.S. crude exports eased by about 368,000 bpd, while imports stepped up by 117,000 to 5.8 million bpd.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 and globally traded Brent LCOc1 were largely unchanged after EIA data. WTI was $2.18, or 2.7% higher at $86.61, while Brent was $2.74, or 3% higher at $93.77.

"This is like the eye of the storm. There were large US oil inventory declines when the Strait was closed in the first round of the US -Iran war, and there may now be significant declines coming soon as Strait transits fall, and as Bab el-Mandeb Strait transits slow," said Josh Young, chief investment officer at Bison Interests. Iran-aligned Houthis have opened a new front in the war by threatening to target vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb strait and announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 765,000 barrels in the week to 211.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel draw.​ U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 pare some gains after the data.

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week to 109.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 738,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.