U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell as demand jumped, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 3.7 million barrels to 420.3 million barrels in the week ended October 3, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 million-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 763,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said. U.S. crude oil futures held in positive territory, despite the larger-than-expected build in inventories. Global benchmark Brent futures were trading at $66.32 a barrel, up 87 cents by 11:03 a.m. EDT (1503 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) were up 93 cents at $62.66 a barrel.

"I would describe the report as modestly positive. The crude build - negative - was the result of higher imports and lower crude exports, while very strong implied demand resulted in large draws for refined products," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS. Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 731,000 barrels per day (bpd) while exports fell by 161,000 bpd to 3.59 million bpd.

Total product supplied of oil and fuels, a proxy for demand, rose by 1.8 million bpd to 21.99 million bpd, its highest since December 2022. Distillate demand rose by 729,000 bpd to 4.35 million bpd.

Gasoline stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels in the week to 219.1 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 911,000-barrel draw.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2 million barrels in the week to 121.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.2 million-barrel drop, the data showed. Refinery crude runs rose by 129,000 bpd last week, the EIA said, while utilization rates rose by 1 percentage point to 92.4%.

"The demand numbers are pretty strong and that should keep the market supported," said Phil Flynn, a senior analyst at Price Futures Group.

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