U.S. crude oil inventories up as oil prices surge again

The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported an increase of 2.8 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending March 4.

Analysts had expected a decrease of about 0.833 million barrels for the week.

The institute reported a drop of 6.1 million barrels in the previous week.

Oil prices surged again on Tuesday as the United States announced a ban on energy imports from Russia.

The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery added 4.30 U.S. dollars, or 3.6 percent, to settle at 123.70 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest finish since August 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Brent crude for May delivery increased 4.77 dollars, or 3.9 percent, to close at 127.98 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, its highest settlement since July 2008.

The U.S. national average for a gallon of regular gasoline hit a fresh record high of 4.173 dollars on Tuesday, according to data from the American Automobile Association.

The national average gas price has jumped 55 cents over the past week, following a surge in oil prices and surpassing the previous record of 4.114 dollars a gallon set in July 2008. The current record does not account for inflation.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced the imposition of an energy embargo on Russia, banning U.S. imports of oil, liquified natural gas and coal from the country over its ongoing military operations in Ukraine.

Elsewhere, the European Union unveiled a plan to reduce its dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

Oil prices have soared recently as the Russia-Ukraine conflict prompted fears about energy supply disruptions from key exporter Russia.

"Larger curtailments of Russian energy supply and exports represent significant challenges for global energy markets," analysts at UBS said Tuesday in a note.