HOUSTON, Sept. 21 -- U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.4 million barrels per day (b/d) during the week ending Sept. 16, 333,000 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 93.6 percent of their operable capacity last week, compared with 91.5 percent in the previous week, said the Weekly Petroleum Data report.

During the same period, both the gasoline and distillate fuel production increased, averaging 9.5 million b/d and 5.2 million b/d respectively.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 1.1 million barrels from the previous week to 430.8 million barrels, about 2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Total motor gasoline inventories surged by 1.6 million barrels last week, about 5 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Both finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories increased last week. Distillate fuel inventories surged by 1.2 million barrels last week, about 18 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Propane/propylene inventories went up by 3.3 million barrels from last week, around 2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year. Total commercial petroleum inventories increased by 9.2 million barrels last week.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 19.6 million b/d, down by 6.7 percent from the same period last year.

Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.5 million b/d, down by 7.7 percent from the same period last year.

Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.4 million b/d over the past four weeks, down by 15.7 percent from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was down 4.7 percent compared with the same four-week period last year.

  - Xinhua