The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a decrease of 1.71 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending June 2.

Analysts had expected a surge of 1.5 million barrels for the week.

The API reported a hike of 5.202 million barrels in the previous week.

Crude oil futures prices declined on Tuesday as weaker economic growth prospects dampened market sentiment.

The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell 0.41 U.S. dollars, or 0.57 percent, to settle at 71.74 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery decreased by 0.42 dollars, or 0.55 percent, to settle at 76.29 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Source: Xinhua