NEW YORK, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices dropped on Tuesday as investors awaited data on U.S. fuel stockpiles.

       The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) 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.

       A strong U.S. dollar continued to weigh on the prices. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.46 percent to 105.5550 in late trading on Tuesday, following a 0.89-percent jump in the prior session. Historically, the price of oil is inversely related to the price of the U.S. dollar.

       The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is set to release its weekly petroleum status report on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast the EIA publications to show a fall of 1.4 million barrels in U.S. crude inventories for the week ending June 10.