HOUSTON, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 15.3 million barrels per day (b/d) during the week ending Jan. 31, 159,000 b/d more than the previous week's average, according to the weekly report issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

Refineries operated at 84.5 percent of their operable capacity last week, said the Weekly Petroleum Data Report.

During the same period, both gasoline and distillate fuel production declined, averaging 9.2 million b/d and 4.6 million b/d respectively.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, surged by 8.7 million barrels from the previous week to 423.8 million barrels, about 5 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Total motor gasoline inventories rose by 2.2 million barrels last week, slightly above the five-year average for this time of year.

Finished gasoline inventories went down while blending components inventories went up last week.

Distillate fuel inventories dropped by 5.5 million barrels last week, around 12 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Propane/propylene inventories shrank by 4.8 million barrels last week, 2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Total commercial petroleum inventories went down by 2.7 million barrels last week.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.6 million b/d, up by 3.3 percent from the same period last year.

Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.3 million b/d, down by 0.2 percent from the same period last year.

Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 4.3 million b/d over the past four weeks, up by 13.7 percent from the same period last year.

Jet fuel product supplied was up 4.6 percent compared with the same four-week period last year. ■