U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose by 3.04 million barrels to 426.7 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 8, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by the government had expected a draw of roughly 0.9 million barrels, while the prior week saw a 3.03 million-barrel decline. Product stocks were mixed. Gasoline supplies fell 792,000 barrels, broadly in line with expectations, whereas distillate inventories increased 714,000 barrels, less than the forecast 1.25 million-barrel build. Stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub were little changed, edging up 45,000 barrels. Including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and refined products, total U.S. petroleum inventories climbed 7.75 million barrels. Refinery utilization slipped 0.50 percentage point, and domestic crude production ticked up 43,000 barrels a day to 13.33 million, highlighting resilient output even as refinery runs eased. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute had reported a smaller 1.5 million-barrel crude build, but the larger increase confirmed by the EIA underscored a looser short-term supply balance than traders had anticipated.