NEW YORK, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices increased on Wednesday, after the United Stated posted a sharp decline in crude oil stockpiles last week, easing worries about potential oversupply.

In the week ending March 15, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 9.6 million barrels from the previous week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday in its weekly report.

At 439.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories were about 2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

OPEC and non-OPEC countries held a ministerial panel in Baku of Azerbaijan on Monday amid statements by senior officials that oil cuts will remain in place until June, the state-run news agency AZERTAC reported.

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday that OPEC may need to extend oil cuts until the end of 2019 amid growing global inventories.

The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery rose 0.8 dollar to settle at 59.83 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery increased 0.89 dollar to close at 68.5 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem

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