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Inventories of distillate jumped by 11.2 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said. U.S. refineries operated at the highest level for this time of year since 1999 as West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, traded near the lowest level in more than five years. [Extracted from the article]

Crude imports to the Midwest, most of them from Canada, have gained amid rising oil production from Alberta's oil sands, the world's third-largest oil reserve. The U.S. bought 3.14 million barrels a day of crude and petroleum products from Canada last year, more than from any other country, according to the EIA, the Energy Department's statistical arm. Expanding pipeline capacity is helping move more oil from Canada to the U.S., said Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks & Opinions LLC in Houston. [Extracted from the article]