HOUSTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported an increase of 4.78 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending April 22.

       Analysts expected an increase of about 2.167 million barrels for this week.

       The API reported a decrease of 4.496 million barrels in the previous week.

       Oil prices rose on Tuesday, reclaiming some of the losses they had suffered in the prior session.

       The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery added 3.16 U.S. dollars, or 3.2 percent, to settle at 101.70 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery increased 2.67 dollars, or 2.6 percent, to close at 104.99 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

       Traders are awaiting data on U.S. crude stockpiles as the U.S. Energy Information Administration is set to release its weekly petroleum status report on Wednesday.