HOUSTON, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a decrease of 3.939 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending April 28.
Analysts expected a drop of one million barrels for this week.
The API reported a decline of 6.083 million barrels in the previous week.
Crude oil futures prices tanked over 5 percent on Tuesday due to concerns over possible U.S. debt default and expected hikes of interest rates by the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank this week.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery dropped 4 U.S. dollars, or 5.29 percent, to settle at 71.66 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for July delivery shed 3.99 U.S. dollars, or 5.03 percent, to settle at 75.32 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Oil markets plunged amid recession worries, while the U.S. banking crisis and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's remarks about a potential U.S. default put additional pressure on oil prices. ■
