SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Global oil prices advanced near $80 a barrel in Asian trade Wednesday after reports of decline in US stockpiles.

Light sweet crude for December delivery was seen trading at $79.88 a barrel at 12.00 noon Singapore time while Brent crude was at $ 79.34 a barrel at the same time.

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US crude inventories fell by 4.37 million barrels last week to 333.1 million, said American Petroleum Institute.

The U.S. Energy Department will release its weekly supply report Wednesday in Washington.

On Tuesday, December delivery was up 24 cents to close at $79.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $US2.55 to settle at $US78.90 on Monday.

Brent crude climbed 21 cents or 0.3 percent Tuesday to close at $78.97 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 0.1 cent to $2.0330 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery dropped 0.32 cent to $1.9836 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery was unchanged at $4.614 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Prices gained this week after a more-than-forecast jump in U.S. retail sales increased optimism that prospects for the global economy were improving. U.S. stock markets gained for a third day yesterday. Asian equity climbed as well.