The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery rose 12 cents to settle at 61.18 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery climbed 25 cents to close at 66.25 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
U.S. crude inventories fell 7.8 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 27, compared with analysts' expectations for a decrease of 3.2 million barrels, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday. Official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due on Friday.
The prices also got some support from the ongoing Middle East tensions.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Tuesday that the United States will deploy about 750 troops immediately to the Middle East, a move taken hours after demonstrators stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
U.S. forces over the weekend attacked five locations in Iraq and Syria controlled by Iraq's paramilitary Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH), or Hezbollah Brigades, in response to recent attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, triggering strong responses from Iraq and Syria. And Iran has denied any role in the recent attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq.
Traders bet the tensions would slow exports in the oil-rich region, experts noted.
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