HOUSTON, May 8 -- U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 15.9 million barrels per day (b/d) during the week ending May 3, 307,000 b/d more than the previous week's average, according to a weekly report issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

Refineries operated at 88.5 percent of their operable capacity last week, said the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Data report.

During the same period, gasoline and distillate fuel production went up, averaging 9.5 million b/d and 4.8 million b/d respectively.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, dropped by 1.4 million barrels from the previous week to 459.5 million barrels, and were about 3.0 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Total motor gasoline inventories surged by 0.9 million barrels from the previous week and were about 2.0 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Both finished gasoline and blending components inventories rose last week.

Distillate fuel inventories went up by 0.6 million barrels last week, and were about 7 percent below the five-ear average for this time of year.

Propane/propylene inventories surged by 2.2 million barrels last week, and were 13 percent above the five-year average for this time of year.

Total commercial petroleum inventories fell by 2.1 million barrels last week.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 19.9 million b/d, slightly below the same period last year.

Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.6 million b/d, down by 4.0 percent from the same period last year.

Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.6 million b/d over the past four weeks, down by 6.6 percent from the same period last year.

Jet fuel product supplied was up 3.5 percent compared with the same four-week period last year.

  - Xinhua