Aug 6 (Reuters) - Top U.S. refiner Marathon Petroleum ( MPC )

posted lower second-quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by

lower refining margins.

The company posted net income of $1.5 billion, or $4.33 per

share, for the three months ended June 30, compared to the $2.23

billion, or $5.32 per share, a year earlier.

U.S. refiners ramped up processing capacity to 93.5% in the

second quarter, compared with 91% a year ago, according to the

U.S. Energy Information Administration, on expectations of an

uptick in demand that did not materialize.

Fuel demand also came under pressure due to lower

manufacturing activity and increasing renewable fuel supply.

Refining and marketing margins came in at $17.37 per barrel

for the second quarter, compared with $22.10 per barrel a year

earlier.

The company, however, saw a quarterly crude capacity

utilization of 97%, up from 93% last year. This led to a total

throughput of 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd) compared with

2.9 million bpd in the year-ago quarter.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun

Koyyur)