U.S. commercial crude-oil inventories fell 3.03 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, confounding analysts who had expected little change. The draw took stockpiles down to 423.66 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 1, roughly 6% below the five-year seasonal average. Refined-product supplies also tightened. Gasoline inventories declined by 1.32 million barrels, while distillate stocks slipped 565,000 barrels. Holdings at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub rose 453,000 barrels. Refiners processed more crude, with utilisation climbing 1.5 percentage points to 96.9%. Domestic crude output eased slightly to 13.28 million barrels a day. Oil prices rose in the minutes after the report. Brent futures gained about 1.1%, while West Texas Intermediate added roughly 0.8%; gasoline and diesel contracts advanced 1.3% and 2.0%, respectively, as traders responded to the unexpected drawdown across crude and products.