Oil prices rally ahead of U.S. inventory data

NEW YORK, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices settled higher Tuesday as investors awaited official data on U.S. crude stockpiles.

The U.S. oil inventories, which is scheduled for release on Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), is expected to show a fifth straight week of decline.

Oil stored in U.S. tanks and terminals last week probably dropped to the lowest level in more than two years, according to a Bloomberg survey Tuesday.

A weaker U.S. dollar also made the dollar-denominated oil more attractive for holders of other currencies.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.27 percent at 93.446 in late trading.

The West Texas Intermediate for January delivery increased 0.30 U.S. dollar to settle at 57.46 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery added 0.39 dollar to close at 63.80 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem