The US Energy Information Administration announced Wednesday that crude oil and gasoline inventories in the United States declined last week, while distillate products rose. The administration, which is the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy in its short-term energy estimates, stated in a statement that crude oil inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels, reaching 445.1 million last week. The crude oil stocks at the delivery center in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 702,000 barrels last week, while crude consumption in refineries rose by 317,000 barrels per day, and the refinery operating rate rose by 1.9 percentage points, it added . The statement indicated that gasoline stocks decreased by two million barrels, to reach 229.7 million, while distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.9 million barrels, to reach 124.6 million, and US net imports of crude oil increased by 615 thousand barrels per day. Source: Qatar News Agency