HOUSTON, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a drawdown of 2.10 million barrels in the U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending Oct. 12.

The institute reported a buildup of 9.75 million barrels in the oil inventories for the previous week.

Oil prices kept rising on Tuesday, as investors worried that U.S. sanctions on Iran and tensions between the United States and Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of a Saudi Arabian journalist could affect global crude supplies.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery rose 0.14 U.S. dollar to settle at 71.92 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery added 0.63 dollar to 81.41 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.