U.S. crude oil stocks last week fell for a third consecutive week as refineries hiked output, while gasoline and distillate inventories both declined, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday. Crude inventories fell 2.7 million barrels to 482.2 million in the week to May 15, compared with analysts’ expectations for an decrease of 1 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell 241,000 barrels, a fourth consecutive weekly draw at the delivery point for the U.S. light sweet crude futures contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the data showed. “It’s a fairly neutral report at the best as the weekly change is mildly bullish within a bearish overall stock situation,” said James L. Williams, energy economist at WTRG Economics in London, Arkansas. Crude futures pared gains slightly after the EIA report. At 11:03 a.m. EDT (1503 GMT), U.S. July […]