NEW YORK, April 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. oil prices saw material growth on Tuesday, thanks to the softening of the U.S. dollar and a benign expectation on weekly U.S. oil inventory data.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery gained 1.79 U.S. dollars, or 2.24 percent, to settle at 81.53 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery picked up 1.43 dollars, or 1.70 percent, to settle at 85.61 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, lost about 0.4 percent on Tuesday, lending support to U.S. dollar-denominated asset prices.
WTI oil gained upside momentum as traders focused on the U.S. dollar's pullback, said Vladimir Zernov, analyst with market information supplier FX Empire, on Tuesday.
U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by around 1.3 million barrels in the week ended April 7, according to a survey by Reuters on five industry analysts.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is scheduled to release its weekly oil inventory data on Wednesday.
Crude prices held onto earlier gains after a short-term energy outlook report by the EIA didn't contain any massive production shocks and steady demand improvements over the next couple of years, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of online multi-asset trading services.
Global liquid fuels consumption will rise by 1.4 million barrels per day in 2023 and by 1.8 million barrels per day in 2024, according to the latest short-term energy outlook report issued on Tuesday. The forecast is unchanged from the previous monthly report.
