NEW YORK, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday as traders awaited U.S. crude stockpile data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The EIA will release the data of U.S. crude inventories in its weekly report on Wednesday. Analysts expected the official data to show a 3.1-million-barrel decline, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Overseas, the news that China pledges coordinated policy tools to bolster growth is seen as bullish for oil demand, which also provided some support to oil prices.

In the face of rising uncertainties in the global economic climate, Chinese policymakers on Monday announced a basket of pro-growth policies from targeted lending to tax breaks to carry the current stable economic trend into the second half of this year.

The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery rose 0.63 U.S. dollar to settle at 68.52 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery added 0.38 dollar to 73.44 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.