HOUSTON, April 16 -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an increase of 4.090 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending April 12.

The API reported a hike of 3.034 million barrels in the previous week.

Oil prices inched down on Tuesday.

The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery lost 5 cents, or 0.06 percent, to settle at 85.36 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery decreased by 8 cents, or 0.09 percent, to settle at 90.02 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

  - Xinhua