US commercial crude oil inventories rose by 3 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels in the week ended September 18, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, versus a Wall Street Journal analyst survey forecasting a 500,000-barrel decline. The EIA said stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve were about 2% above the five-year average for the time of year. The latest account rounds the increase from the existing detailed record of 2.969 million barrels and cites a smaller expected draw than the previously reported 600,000-barrel forecast. The build came as refinery crude runs fell by 519,000 barrels per day and utilization declined 2.8 percentage points to 94%, while net crude imports increased by 369,000 barrels per day. Cushing stocks rose by 2.266 million barrels to 23.7 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.686 million barrels to 206 million barrels, and distillate stocks dropped by 400,000 barrels to 107.4 million barrels. Earlier data showed a 400,000-barrel draw from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, leaving holdings at 284.6 million barrels, while US production was 13.944 million barrels per day for the week ended September 11.