By Liz Hampton and Georgina McCartney
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose sharply last week as refinery utilization declined and imports rose and the market braced for new tariffs from the Trump administration, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 6.2 million barrels to 439.8 million barrels in the week ending March 28, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 million-barrel draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 2.4 million barrels, the EIA said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has declared April 2 "Liberation Day" and is planning to impose an array of tariffs that are expected to upend global trading systems.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 999,000 barrels per day to 2.585 million bpd, the EIA said.
Crude imports from Canada, the top oil supplier to the U.S., last week hit their highest level since January 3, rising by 438,000 bpd to 4.42 million bpd.
"The crude build is driven by a sharp increase in Canadian crude imports, likely ahead of the fear of the introduction of new tariffs," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS.
Crude prices were little changed despite the surprisingly large build in inventories. Global benchmark Brent futures were trading at $74.42 a barrel, down 7 cents, by 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up 5 cents at $71.25 a barrel.
Refinery crude runs fell by 192,000 bpd last week, while utilization rates fell by 1 percentage point in the week to 86%, the EIA said.
"The utilization rate is down, and is kind of weak for this time of year. Refiners should be going in the other direction in terms of maintenance," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York.
"We got another poor gasoline demand week and distillates only held relatively steady," he added.
Gasoline product supplied, a proxy for demand, fell last week to 8.5 million bpd from 8.64 million bpd.
Gasoline stocks declined by 1.6 million barrels in the week to 237.6 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 1.7 million-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 300,000 barrels in the week to 114.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.