HOUSTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an increase of 2.165 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending Friday.
Analysts had expected a drop of about 0.467 million barrels for this week, while the API reported a decline of 4.037 million barrels in the previous week.
Oil prices increased modestly on Tuesday ahead of a key meeting by major oil producers.
The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery added 53 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at 94.42 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery increased 51 cents, or 0.5 percent, to close at 100.54 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Traders looked to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, as the group is expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss future output strategy. ■