HOUSTON, April 23 -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a decrease of 3.230 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending April 19.

Analysts are expecting a surge of 1.800 million barrels for this week.

The API reported a hike of 4.090 million barrels in the previous week.

Oil prices advanced on Tuesday.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery added 1.46 dollars, or 1.78 percent, to settle at 83.36 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery increased by 1.42 dollars, or 1.63 percent, to settle at 88.42 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

  - Xinhua