Updates prices

By Liz Hampton and Georgina McCartney

DENVER, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week as refiners continued to boost activity to fill supply gaps caused by the Iran war, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels to 426.5 million barrels in the week ended June 5, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4 million-barrel draw.

U.S. crude inventories, including those from strategic reserves, have fallen by 79 million barrels since the Iran war began on February 28. The U.S. is the world’s largest crude producer and has stepped in to fill supply gaps caused by the conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade chokepoint. Inventories in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve are now at their lowest level since August 2023.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI fell by 801,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.

Oil prices rose following the larger-than-expected decline in stocks and amid renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Global Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $94.1 a barrel, up $2.65 at 1:09 p.m. ET (1709 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 were up $2.98 to $91.18 a barrel at that time

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 81,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI rose by 0.6 percentage points to 95.3%.

"We saw a significant drop in exports, that refinery run rate is pressing on the crude inventories here, it does not get much higher than that, you do not see that often," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital

Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, rose by 267,000 bpd to 20.6 million bpd. Gasoline consumption, which typically peaks during the summer months, was up 137,000 bpd to 8.73 million bpd.

"Gasoline demand was tepid for this time of year, we can see consumer reaction to high prices," Kilduff said.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 186,000 barrels in the week to 215.1 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 471,000 barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 200,000 barrels in the week to 102.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 488,000 barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose last week by 525,000 barrels per day, EIA said, whie U.S. exports declined by 1.03 million bpd to 4.84 million bpd.