Oil Prices Drop as U.S. Crude Inventories Show an Increase

BEIJING, March 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices slightly fell on Wednesday morning after sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent futures LCOc1 dropped $1.15, or 1.11%, to $102.27 a barrel by 0108 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 dropped $1.54, or 1.6%, to $94.67.

U.S. crude stocks rose by 6.56 million barrels in the week ended March 13, market sources said, citing API figures on Tuesday.

A Reuters poll showed that U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have risen by about 380,000 barrels in the week to March 13.

In terms of supply, Iraq's oil minister said on Tuesday that the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government reached an agreement to resume oil exports to Turkey's Ceyhan energy hub starting on Wednesday.

Oil flow from Ceyhan port is expected to start at 10 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Wednesday.

Libya's National Oil Corporation said early on Wednesday that flows from the Sharara oilfield were gradually redirected through alternative pipelines after a fire broke out, adding that production remains on tap and there were no casualties.

Iran's security chief Ali Larijani was killed by Israel, Tehran confirmed on Tuesday, the most senior figure targeted since the U.S.-Israeli war's first day, while a senior Iranian official said Iran's new supreme leader rejected de-escalation offers conveyed by intermediary countries.

The United States military said Tuesday it had targeted sites along Iran's coastline near the Strait of Hormuz because Iranian anti-ship missiles posed a risk to international shipping there.

Iranian power broker Larijani's death and the U.S. military's strikes on Iranian coastal positions near the Strait of Hormuz have raised hopes that the conflict could end sooner, said Mingyu Gao, chief researcher for energy and chemicals at China Futures.