Adds more details, analyst comment, market reaction

By Georgina McCartney and Liz Hampton

HOUSTON, June 24 (Reuters) - U.S. total crude stocks hit their lowest level since 1984 last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, on strong refining demand and as the government released oil from its emergency reserve.

U.S. crude stocks, including commercial and those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 15.1 million barrels to 743.3 million barrels in the week ended June 19, the EIA said, the lowest level in more than 41 years.

Commercial oil inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels to 412.1 million barrels, their lowest since January 2025, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4.5 million-barrel draw. Stocks in the SPR fell by 9.05 million barrels to 331.2 million barrels last week, the lowest level since June 1983.

"This crude situation is getting stark, the tank bottoms are within sight, but there appears to be plenty of crude on the horizon that is getting priced in, with efforts underway to get crude exports back on the market from Persian Gulf countries," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital.

The war in Iran has upended global supplies and pushed more import-dependent countries in Asia and Europe to ramp up purchases of U.S. crude, driving inventories to multidecade lows.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI fell by 1.1 million barrels, the EIA said, to their lowest since October 2014.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI fell by 81,000 barrels per day last week, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 0.6 percentage points to 96.1%, the EIA said.

"The refiners are running full out now so that is helping contribute to that crude draw down and causing the rebound in product inventories," said Kilduff.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 2.1 million barrels in the week to 216.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.6 million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.1 million barrels in the week to 106.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.5 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, fell last week by 413,000 bpd to 20.27 million bpd. Gasoline demand fell by 437,000 bpd to 8.78 million bpd, while distillate demand fell 126,000 bpd to 3.53 million bpd.

Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose last week by 94,000 bpd, EIA said.

Crude oil prices were little changed after EIA data as markets focused on the increased flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz with more stranded tankers exiting the key choke point.