Crude Inventories Rise; Gasoline, Diesel Stockpiles Fall

rude oil inventories gained last week but gasoline and distillate stockpiles declined, the Department of Energy reported Wednesday.

Gasoline inventories plunged 4.4 million barrels for the week, a bigger drop than the 1.9 million barrels expected by analysts, Bloomberg reported.

Distillates, which include diesel fuel and heating oil, fell by 2.6 million barrels, DOE said in its weekly report.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil closed at $66.23 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 51 cents from Monday’s close.