Gulf Coast leads crude stock draw Imports likely delayed by Nestor USAC distillate deficit widens Crude futures rose Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration reported draws in crude and refined products inventories. NYMEX front-month crude settled $1.49 higher at $55.97/b, while ICE Brent settled up $1.47 at $61.17/b. US crude stocks fell 1.7 million barrels last week to 433.15 million barrels, according to the EIA data. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts were on average looking for stocks to build by 4.7 million barrels. The US Gulf Coast led the fall, with inventories down 3.71 million barrels last week at 223.22 million barrels, the EIA data showed. A rise in crude demand from US refiners helped to draw inventories, as did a drop in imports and rise in exports. US refinery runs increased, as refiners began to exit fall maintenance. Refiners were operating at 85.2% of […]