U.S. commercial crude inventories rose by 7.07 million barrels in the week to 4 July, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, marking the largest build since January and confounding analysts’ expectations for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. The increase, the second consecutive weekly gain, lifted total stocks to 426 million barrels, still about 8 percent below the five-year seasonal average. Refineries processed less oil, with utilization slipping to 94.7 percent. Gasoline inventories fell by 825,000 barrels and distillate stocks dropped 2.66 million barrels, sending distillate supplies to their lowest seasonal level since 1996. Net crude imports declined to 3.26 million barrels a day while exports climbed to 2.76 million. Domestic crude output eased by 48,000 barrels a day to 13.385 million. The EIA said implied product demand fell 1.6 percent from a year earlier, though the four-week average for gasoline demand held steady. Following the report, West Texas Intermediate futures extended earlier losses as traders weighed the surprise crude build against still-tight product inventories.