Adds total oil stocks in paragraph 3, comments in paragraph 5, updates prices in paragraph 6, details on product demand in penultimate and last paragraph

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.

Total U.S. crude stocks, including stocks in commercial storage and in the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve , has fallen by 131.6 million barrels to 723.1 million barrels last week, the lowest since 1984.

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.

"Today’s modest build in oil and gasoline inventories gives some relief from worst-case scenarios, but the SPR continues to fall. While the market isn’t on the verge of an immediate energy crunch, the current trajectory is precarious," said David Russell, Global Head of Market Strategy at TradeStation.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 and globally traded Brent LCOc1 were largely unchanged after EIA data. WTI was $2.69, or 3.3% higher at $87.08, while Brent was $3.14, or 3.4% higher at $94.15.

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 bpd to 5.8 million bpd.

U.S. West Texas Intermdiate's weak discount to Brent crude in recent weeks pushed exports lower, but with the WTI discount widening again, US crude exports should pick up over the coming weeks, said UBS analyst ⁠Giovanni Staunovo.

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.

While product supplied for U.S. gasoline and distillate fuel oil, a proxy for demand, rose marginally last week, jet fuel demand hit a record high of 2.15 million bpd last week, EIA data showed

The implied jet fuel implied was likely supported by travel related to the World Cup soccer tournament in the U.S., Staunovo said.