UPDATE 1-US crude oil stocks down sharply, gasoline up -EIA

(Adds details, analysts' comments)

NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles sank last week on a renewed drop in imports and as refiners boosted demand, while gasoline inventories rose unexpectedly on weaker demand, the government said on Wednesday.

Commercial stockpiles of crude oil in the United States fell 5.9 million barrels to 293.9 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said in its report for the week ended July 4.

The decline was more than triple the average estimate for a drop of 1.8 million barrels in a Reuters poll of analysts.

The decline came as U.S. crude oil imports averaged 9.55 million barrels per day last week, down 621,000 bpd from the previous week, and as domestic refineries increased crude runs by 75,000 bpd to 15.49 million bpd.

"Another bullish number for oil," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago. "No refiner wants to put oil away at these prices, especially with refining margins being so low. So supplies keep falling."

U.S. refinery utilization was unchanged at 89.2 percent of capacity.

U.S. gasoline supplies rose by 900,000 barrels to 211.8 million barrels last week, running counter to projections that supplies of the motor fuel would be down a modest 200,000 barrels.

Although the July 4 week is traditionally seen as a period of peak summer gasoline demand as millions of American motorists hit the road, the EIA said weekly demand fell to 9.347 million bpd from the previous week's 9.357 million bpd.