Crude inventories plunge as gasoline reserves soar

Crude inventories plunged more than expected last week, though gas reserves surged even as consumers drove more, the government said Wednesday, news that adds even more complexity to the already-jilted commodities markets.

Crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels, or 1.1 percent, to 357.7 million barrels, which is 19.3 percent above year-ago levels, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report.

Analysts had expected a drop of 1.7 million barrels for the week ended June 12, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Gasoline inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels, or 1.7 percent, to 205 million barrels, which is 1.6 percent below year-ago levels. Analysts expected stockpiles of the motor fuel to rise by 650,000 barrels.

Demand for gasoline over the four weeks ended June 12 was 1.1 percent higher than a year earlier, averaging nearly 9.3 million barrels a day.

At the same time, U.S. refineries ran at 85.9 percent of total capacity on average, even with the previous week's levels. Analysts expected capacity to rise to 86.15 percent.

Inventories of distillate fuel, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 300,000 barrels to 150 million barrels for the week ended June 12. Analysts expected distillate stocks to jump 950,000 barrels.

Benchmark crude fell $1.30 to $69.17 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.