HOUSTON, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a buildup of 1.099 million barrels of the United States crude oil inventories for the week ending April 20, showing an unexpected weekly climb.
The report was contrary to analyst expectations that this week would see a drop in crude oil inventories.
Last week, the API reported a draw of 1.047 million barrels of crude oil.
According to API, U.S. gasoline inventories fell for the week ending April 20, to the tune of 2.724 million barrels.
Oil prices settled lower on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that the United States and France are close to reaching an agreement to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.
The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery fell 0.94 U.S. dollar to settle at 67.70 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery lost 0.85 dollar to close at 73.86 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
