U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending Jan. 28 decreased by 1.645 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday.

Oil prices rose on Friday to notch a solid gain for the week.

The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery added 21 cents, or 0.24 percent, to settle at 86.82 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery increased 69 cents, or 0.77 percent, to close at 90.03 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

“There are no new reasons to explain the renewed surge in the crude oil price: it is still concerns about supply disruptions if the Ukraine crisis escalates,” Carsten Fritsch, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said Friday in a note.

The API data show how much oil and product is available in storage, and give an overview of U.S. petroleum demand.
Source: Xinhua