U.S. crude oil inventories down last week: API

HOUSTON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a decrease of 4.339 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending Sept. 20.

Analysts expect a decline of 1.100 million barrels for this week.

The API reported a hike of 1.960 million barrels in the previous week.

Oil prices advanced on Tuesday.

The West Texas Intermediate for November delivery added 1.19 U.S. dollars, or 1.69 percent, to settle at 71.56 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery gained 1.27 dollars, or 1.72 percent, to settle at 75.17 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.