U.S. crude oil inventories down last week: API

HOUSTON, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a decrease of 2.286 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending March 29.

Analysts were expecting a decline of 2.000 million barrels for the week.

The API reported a hike of 9.337 million barrels in the previous week.

Oil prices advanced on Tuesday. The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery went up 1.44 U.S. dollars, or 1.72 percent, to settle at 85.15 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery increased by 1.50 dollars, or 1.72 percent, to settle at 88.92 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.