Oil prices are climbing after a night-time slump as a result of the US government’s announcement to release crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

A barrel of European benchmark crude Brent trades at USD 86.11 on Tuesday morning against USD 86.06 on Monday afternoon after having dropped to USD 85.67 late Monday night. US counterpart West Texas Intermediate futures sell at USD 79.38 per barrel against USD 79.49 on Monday afternoon.

The US Department of Energy has announced plans to sell 26 million barrels of oil from the SPR which will likely push down inventories to the lowest levels since 1983. The announcement counters market expectations.

”Energy traders were expecting to hear news about refilling the SPR and not tapping them for more supplies,” Reuters reports, citing Edward Moya, an analyst at OANDA.

Traders will be on the lookout for clues when the US publishes crucial consumer price index data for January on Tuesday. Consumer prices have gone up in recent months against all odds, raising the risk of higher inflation readings in the months ahead.

Concerns regarding inventories eased after the Energy Information Administration projected record-high shale production for the month of March. Additionally, oil export flows have been restored in a KEU Turkish port after the devastating earthquake in the region, writes Reuters.