Oil prices were little changed on Thursday (July 31st) as investors weighed supply risks stemming from US President Donald Trump's push for a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine through additional tariffs, while a surprise increase in US crude stockpiles weighed on prices.
Brent crude futures for September, which expire on Thursday, rose 4 cents, or 0.05%, to $73.28 a barrel at 08:12 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for September also rose 4 cents, or 0.06%, to $70.04. Both benchmarks rose 1% on Wednesday.
"We're looking for more clarity on the nature of any new tariffs or sanctions against Russia," said Harry Tchiliguirian of Onyx Capital Group. The US president's history of implementing policies and then changing them days later has left traders and analysts hesitant to price them in, Tchiliguirian added.
Trump said he would begin imposing measures against Russia, including 100% secondary tariffs on its trading partners, if Russia does not make progress in ending the war in Ukraine within 10-12 days, moving up the previous deadline by 50 days. The US has also warned China, Russia's largest oil buyer, that it could face significant tariffs if it continues to purchase.
On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on more than 115 individuals, entities, and vessels linked to Iran, escalating the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign following the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in June. Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels to 426.7 million barrels in the week ending July 25, driven by declining exports, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a decline of 1.3 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels to 228.4 million barrels, far exceeding forecasts for a 600,000-barrel decline. "US inventory data showed a surprise increase in crude oil stocks, but a larger-than-expected decline in gasoline supported the outlook for strong driving season demand, thus having a neutral impact on the oil market," said Fujitomi Securities analyst Toshitaka Tazawa. (alg)
Source: Reuters
Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one ...
Oil prices rose on Wednesday (February 11th), supported by a combination of geopolitical risk premiums from US-Iran tensions and more solid Asian demand signals particularly from India which helped ea...
Oil remained in the green zone on Tuesday (February 10th), as the market refused to abandon the Middle East risk premium. As of 13:07 GMT (20:07 WIB), Brent rose +0.4% to $69.32/barrel, while WTI rose...
Oil prices fell about 1% on Monday as concerns about conflict in the Middle East eased slightly. The market calmed after the US and Iran agreed to resume talks on Tehran's nuclear program, reducing fe...
Oil prices moved slightly higher in a volatile session on Friday, as investors assessed the direction of nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran. Price movements appeared sensitive to ...
Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one thing: geopolitical headlines are still more...
Gold prices weakened slightly on Thursday (February 12th), as more solid US employment data reduced market confidence in an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The strong employment data prompted market participants to shift expectations of...
The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to...