
Oil prices slip after US crude stocks post surprise build
US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 24 cents, or 0.35%, to $68.09 a barrel. US crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 7.1 million barrels to 426 million barrels in the week ended July 4, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a draw of 2.1 million barrels. Curbing price losses, after months of calm in the Red Sea, attacks in the major global shipping lane were renewed in the past week, which sources attribute to Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi militia.
A mission was underway on Wednesday to rescue the crew from a cargo ship which sank in the Red Sea following an attack that killed at least four crew members. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oil prices also were supported by an EIA forecast on Tuesday that the US will produce less oil in 2025 than previously expected, as declining prices have prompted US producers to slow activity. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said he would announce a 50% tariff on copper, aiming to boost US production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods.
Trump made the announcement as he delayed a deadline for some tariffs to August 1, spurring hopes among major trade partners that deals to ease duties could still be reached, though many companies remain uncertain on the path forward.
Elsewhere, OPEC+ oil producers were set for another big output boost for September as they complete both the unwinding of voluntary production cuts by eight members, and the United Arab Emirates' move to a larger quota, five sources said. The group announced on Saturday that it had approved a supply increase of 548,000 barrels per day for August.
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The U.S. government has identified HMX as 'critical for Russia's war effort' and has warned financial institutions against facilitating any sales of the substance to Moscow. The HMX sale to Russian firms has not been previously reported. Russian defense manufacturers have been working around the clock for the past several years to sustain President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, which intensified with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022. India, which has recently forged closer ties with the United States in an effort to counterbalance China's growing influence, has not abandoned its longstanding military and economic ties with Moscow. India's trade with Russia - especially its purchases of Russian oil - has remained robust, even as Western nations have tried to cripple Russia's war economy with sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened earlier in July to hit nations with a 100% tariff if they continued purchasing Russian crude. 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Business Recorder
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