The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude oil and fuel inventories in the United States rose last week as refinery operations declined.

The agency said in its widely followed weekly report that crude oil inventories rose by 2 million barrels to 411.7 million barrels in the week ended July 17, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a decline of 1.1 million barrels.

The administration noted that crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub, the delivery point, fell by 674,000 barrels last week to 19.4 million barrels, which is below the minimum operating levels.

The agency also said crude oil refining operations declined by 58,000 barrels per day during the week.

Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.1 percentage point to 96.1 percent.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories in the United States rose by 765,000 barrels during the week to 211.3 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a decline of 1.5 million barrels.

The data showed distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.4 million barrels during the week to 109.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a rise of 738,000 barrels.

The Energy Information Administration added that net U.S. crude oil imports rose last week by 485,000 barrels per day.