New York's main contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, advanced 13 cents to $100.23 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for July delivery gained 13 cents to $112.43.

The US Department of Energy (DoE) in its weekly report Wednesday showed American crude stockpiles had failed to rise as expected in the week ending May 13.

Stockpiles steadied last week, bucking forecasts for a rise of 700,000 barrels, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

"This was one key reason why crude oil prices was performing impressively," said Ker Chung Yang, a Singapore-based commodity analyst at Phillip Futures.

"Crude oil prices will likely hang around the $100 level for quite some time unless there is a strong impetus to bring it down," Ker told AFP.

Traders closely monitor the DoE report for clues on US demand as it is the world's biggest oil consumer.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011