US oil, gasoline inventories swell to record highs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - US crude oil and gasoline inventories jumped more than expected last week to record highs, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose 7.8 million bbl in the week to Jan. 29 to 502.7 million bbl, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 4.8 million bbl, as imports jumped and refiners trimmed throughput.

Nationwide, crude stocks hit a record high for the second week in a row, while stocks in US Gulf Coast region last week rose to the highest on record since 1990 when the EIA began tracking data.

US crude imports rose 647,000 bpd, while refinery crude runs fell 24,000 bpd as utilization rates fell 0.8 percentage point to 86.6% of capacity.

"I didn't expect to see that big of a build, but it didn't surprise me," said Tariq Zahir of Tyche Capital in Laurel Hollow, New York.

Zahir expects the bearish trend to continue.

"We are going to be going into refinery maintenance very shortly," he said, which will boost crude inventories.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for US crude futures rose 747,000 bbl, EIA said.

The data showing the hefty build pulled crude down initially, but after US crude futures dipped below $30/bbl they recovered quickly, trading at $31.29 at 11:16 a.m. (1616 GMT).

"The bears are controlling the market, the bulls are only going to go in and try to get a little bit here and there," said Sal Umek, a partner at the Energy Management Institute in New York.

US gasoline inventories also rose to a record high, soaring 5.9 million bbl to 254.4 million bbl, mainly due to Midwest stocks for the motor fuel soaring to the highest level since 1995, EIA data showed. Analysts had forecast a 1.7 million-bbl gain in gasoline inventories.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 777,000 bbl, versus expectations for a 1.1 million bbl drop, the EIA data showed.