HOUSTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an increase of 0.736 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending June 10.

       Analysts had expected a drop of about 1.2 million barrels for this week.

       The API reported an increase of 1.845 million barrels in the previous week.

       Oil prices dropped on Tuesday as investors awaited data on U.S. fuel stockpiles.

       The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery lost 2 U.S. dollars, or nearly 1.7 percent, to settle at 118.93 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery decreased 1.1 dollars, or 0.9 percent, to close at 121.17 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

       The U.S. Energy Information Administration is set to release its weekly petroleum status report on Wednesday.