U.S. crude oil inventories down: API

HOUSTON, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a decrease of 6.53 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending Oct. 28.

Analysts had expected a surge of 0.267 million barrels for this week.

The API reported a hike of 4.52 million barrels in the previous week.

Oil prices advanced on Tuesday as traders awaited more data on U.S. fuel stockpiles.

The West Texas Intermediate for December delivery increased 1.84 U.S. dollars, or 2.1 percent, to settle at 88.37 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery added 1.84 dollars, or 2 percent, to settle at 94.65 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly petroleum status report on Wednesday.

Traders also paid close attention to the Federal Reserve as the U.S. central bank will make an announcement on rates on Wednesday afternoon when concluding a two-day policy meeting.