HOUSTON, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil inventories increased in the week ending Nov. 16, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Wednesday.

According to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 4.9 million barrels from the previous week. At 446.9 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories were about 6 percent above the five-year average for this time of year.

In the previous week ending Nov. 9, EIA reported a build of 10.3 million barrels, which caused concerns on demand side.

Oil prices rebounded on Wednesday after the previous day's sharp declines.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery increased 1.20 U.S. dollars to settle at 54.63 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for January delivery added 0.95 dollar to 63.48 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.