Crude inventories in the United States fell by 4.78 million barrels in the week ending Dec. 25, private data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) reportedly showed Tuesday.

Meanwhile, oil reserves in Cushing, Oklahoma, rose by 131,000 barrels in the same seven-day period. Gasoline stockpiles in the U.S. declined by 718,000 million barrels last week, while the country's distillate reserves went down by 1.87 million barrels in the same week.

The official figures on inventories are to be released later in the day by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak claimed that oil markets could return to pre-pandemic levels in 2021.

In an interview with Russia-24, Novak also asserted that Russia expects the global oil demand to jump by 5 million to 6 million barrels next year.