HOUSTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an increase of 3.5 million barrels in the U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending Aug. 16.
API also revised its previous week's crude oil inventories from a decrease of 2.19 million barrels to a buildup of 3.7 million barrels. For the week ending Aug. 9, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an increase of 1.6 million barrels.
Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday, as investors remained concerned over the ongoing geopolitical tensions between Iran and the West.
The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery slightly increased 0.13 U.S. dollar to settle at 56.34 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery rose 0.29 dollar to close at 60.03 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.