HOUSTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an increase of 8.428 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending Feb. 23.
The API reported a hike of 7.168 million barrels in the previous week.
Oil prices advanced on Tuesday.
The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery went up 1.29 U.S. dollars, or 1.66 percent, to settle at 78.87 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery added 1.12 dollars, or 1.36 percent, to settle at 83.65 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. ■
