Oil prices fall to $73.08 as Trump’s tariff threats mount, U.S. inventories rise.
Oil prices declined on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump pushed for a rapid resolution to the war in Ukraine and issued fresh tariff threats on nations continuing to purchase Russian oil, driving investor concerns over potential supply shortages.
As of 4:15 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 16 cents, or 0.22 percent, to $73.08 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.11 percent to $69.92 a barrel. Both Brent crude futures for September delivery and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September settled 1 percent higher on Wednesday.
Despite the marginal fall in oil prices on Thursday, concerns over tightening global oil supplies continued to fuel buying interest in early trading as markets reacted to the potential impact of secondary tariffs on countries importing Russian crude.
On Tuesday, President Trump announced that if Russia failed to show progress in ending the war within 10 to 12 days—significantly earlier than his previous 50-day deadline—the U.S. would impose 100 percent secondary tariffs on its trading partners. These developments intensified fears of supply disruptions.
On Wednesday, Trump confirmed that trade negotiations with India were ongoing, even after announcing a 25 percent tariff on Indian imports starting Friday. The U.S. has also issued a warning to China, Russia’s largest oil customer, that it could face substantial tariffs if it continued purchasing Russian crude, escalating tensions in global energy and trade markets.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly rose by 7.7 million barrels in the week ending July 25, reaching 426.7 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The build was largely attributed to a drop in exports and contrasted sharply with analyst expectations of a 1.3 million-barrel draw.
In contrast, gasoline stocks declined by 2.7 million barrels to 228.4 million barrels, a much steeper drop than the anticipated 600,000-barrel decrease.
Source: Economymiddleeast