HOUSTON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a decrease of 8.129 million barrels in the U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending July 5.
In the previous week ending June 28, API reported a decrease of 5 million barrels of crude oil inventories, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a decline of 1.1 million barrels for the same period.
Oil prices finished slightly higher on Tuesday as tensions in the Middle East bolstered the market while the gains were trimmed by concerns over a possible slowdown in energy demand.
The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery climbed 17 cents to settle at 57.83 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery rose 5 cents to close at 64.16 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
