NEW YORK: US crude oil inventories rose more than expected last week, while fuel stockpiles fell, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. Crude inventories rose 1.7 million barrels in the week to Dec. 30, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.2 million-barrel rise. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose 244,000 barrels. Refinery crude runs fell 2.33 million barrels per day. US gasoline stocks fell 346,000 in the week, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 486,000-barrel drop. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 1.4 million in the week, versus expectations for a 396,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed. Net US crude imports fell 1.28 million bpd.