Oil prices rise with Brent crude up 0.1 percent above $68.50 on strong demand data
Oil prices rose on Thursday, reversing declines seen over the previous three sessions, supported by stronger-than-expected economic data from the world’s leading oil consumers and indications of easing trade tensions.
Brent crude futures rose by 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, reaching $68.60 a barrel at 06:30 GMT (currently trading above $68.50). Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased by 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $66.54 (currently trading above $66.45). Both benchmarks had declined by more than 0.2 percent in the previous session.
Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer, Century Financial, remarked to Economy Middle East, “Oil prices declined by around 2 percent over the last three sessions after Trump announced that he would send letters to over 150 countries, notifying them of tariff rates ranging from 10 percent to 15 percent.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that letters notifying smaller countries of their U.S. tariff rates would be sent out soon, and he mentioned on Wednesday that he would likely implement a blanket 10 percent or 15 percent tariff on these nations. New agreements with Indonesia and Vietnam were announced this week. Trump also expressed renewed optimism regarding the prospects of a deal with Beijing concerning illicit drugs and hinted that a trade deal with India was very close, while an agreement could potentially be reached with Europe as well.
U.S. crude inventories decreased by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration’s report on Wednesday. This decline was steeper than the forecasted 552,000-barrel draw, indicating stronger refinery activity, tighter supply, and increased demand. The latest snapshot of the U.S. economy by the central bank, released on Wednesday, revealed that activity had picked up in recent weeks. However, the outlook was described as “neutral to slightly pessimistic,” as businesses reported that higher import tariffs were exerting upward pressure on prices.
Source: economymiddleeast