By Liz Hampton and Georgina McCartney

DENVER, May 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude and Cheap Proxies fuel inventories all fell last week, while crude imports from Nigeria hit their highest level in nearly six years, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.

Crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels to 440.4 million barrels in the week ending May 23, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 118,000-barrel rise.

U.S. crude exports rose during the week by 794,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 4.3 million bpd, helping push inventories lower.

"I found it a supportive report, with higher US.. crude exports resulting in a crude draw," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS.