NEW YORK, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices were mixed on Thursday, amid military escalation in Libya and an unexpected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories last week.

The military escalation in Libya comes as the country prepares to hold a UN-sponsored national conference that is expected to bring together many Libyan parties with a view to end the political crisis in the war-shattered oil-rich country.

United Nations Security-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday expressed concerns over the recent military escalation in Libya.

Yet in the United States, for the week ending March 29, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 7.2 million barrels from the previous week. At 449.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are at the five year average for this time of year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

The unexpected growth came alongside rising imports, as U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.8 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, up by 223,000 bpd from the previous week, said the report.

The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery decreased 0.36 dollar to settle at 62.10 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery increased 0.09 dollar to close at 69.40 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem

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