Oil eases 1% as US fuel stock builds put focus on demand
Brent crude futures fell 71 cents, or 1%, to $68 a barrel by 10:50 a.m. ET (1450 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 69 cents, or 1%, at $65.82.
U.S. crude stocks fell while gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels in the week ended July 11, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 552,000-barrel draw.
Oil eases as Trump's 50-day deadline for Russia reduces supply fears
U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 3.4 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1 million-barrel draw.? Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.2 million barrels versus expectations for a 200,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.
'I think the market is disappointed to see large builds in gasoline and distillate inventories as refiners are operating at near their highest levels of the year turning oil into refined products,' said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
'I think investors are also disappointed to see gasoline demand fall just after July 4 as we are now in the peak summer driving season,' he added.
The amount of products supplied for gasoline, a proxy for demand, eased 670,000 barrels per day to 8.5 million bpd.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war continues, with the European Commission preparing possible retaliation if talks with Washington fail to secure a trade agreement for the European Union.
Trump also said on Monday that the United States will impose 'very severe tariffs' on Russia in 50 days if there is no deal to stop the war in Ukraine.
Analysts said selling linked to concerns about economic disruption and weaker demand was offset by anticipation China, the world's biggest crude importer, will need more oil.
Chinese state-owned refiners are completing maintenance to meet higher third-quarter fuel demand and to rebuild diesel and gasoline stocks at multi-year lows, traders and analysts said.
Barclays estimated that Chinese oil demand in the first half of the year grew by 400,000 barrels per day year-on-year to 17.2 million bpd.
Meanwhile, OPEC's monthly report on Tuesday forecast that the global economy would do better in the second half of the year.
Brazil, China and India are exceeding expectations while the United States and EU are recovering from last year, it added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Tehran says air defence systems restored after Israel conflict
A satellite overview shows the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility, along with damage from recent airstrikes, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, near Qom, Iran, June 24, 2025. Maxar Photo:REUTERS Listen to article Iran has replaced air defences damaged during last month's conflict with Israel, Iran's Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army's deputy for operations. During the conflict in June, Israel's air force dominated Iran's airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country's air defences while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory. "Some of our air defences were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure," Mousavi said. Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defence system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defence systems to Iran in past weeks. Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defences in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack. Earlier today, Iran, Britain, France and Germany could hold talks next week on Tehran's nuclear programme, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, following warnings by the three European countries that failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran. "The principle of talks has been agreed upon, but consultations are continuing on the time and place of the talks. The country in which the talks could be held next week has not been finalised," Tasnim reported, quoting a source informed on the matter. Read: Iran says 'no specific date' for US nuclear talks The report on possible talks comes a few days after the foreign ministers of the so-called E3 nations, as well as the European Union's foreign policy chief, held their first call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel and the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago. The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran - from which the United States withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. The E3 have said they would restore UN sanctions on Tehran via the so-called "snapback mechanism" by the end of August if nuclear talks that were ongoing between Iran and the US before the Israel-Iran air war do not resume or fail to produce concrete results. "If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the 'snap-back' for which they lack absolutely [any] moral and legal ground," Araqchi said earlier this week. The snapback mechanism can be used to restore UN sanctions before the UN Security Council resolution enshrining the deal expires on October 18. Prior to the Israel-Iran war, Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman but faced major stumbling blocks such as uranium enrichment in Iran, which Western powers want to bring down to zero to minimise any risk of weaponisation. Tehran maintains its nuclear programme is solely meant for civilian purposes.
Business Recorder
15 hours ago
- Business Recorder
China's crude oil imports from Russia tick down in June; Malaysia imports surge
BEIJING: China's imports of crude oil from Russia fell 1% in June from a year earlier to 8.35 million metric tons or 2.03 million barrels per day, Chinese customs data showed on Sunday. China's June crude imports climb Imports from Malaysia, the biggest trans-shipment hub for sanctioned Iranian oil, reached 7.09 million tons in June, or 1.72 million bpd, up 40% from May, also up 20% year-on-year. Imports from Saudi Arabia, the second-largest supplier to China in June, were up 16% year-on-year in June, at 7.9 million tons or 1.92 million bpd. Customs recorded no imports from Iran and Venezuela in June.
Business Recorder
15 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Japan heads to polls in key test for Prime Minister Ishiba
TOKYO: Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a tightly contested upper house election that could unleash political turmoil, with rising prices and immigration concerns threatening to weaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power. Opinion polls suggest Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito may fall short of the 50 seats needed to retain control of the 248-seat upper house of parliament in an election where half the seats are up for grabs. The polls show that smaller opposition parties pushing for tax cuts and increased public spending are set to gain, among them the right-wing Sanseito, which vows to curb immigration, oppose foreign capital inflows and reverse gender equality moves. 'I am attending graduate school but there are no Japanese around me. All of them are foreigners,' said Yu Nagai, a 25-year-old student who said he voted for Sanseito. 'When I look at the way compensation and money are spent on foreigners, I think that Japanese people are a bit disrespected,' Nagai said. Voting ends at 8 p.m. (1100 GMT), when media are expected to project results based on exit polls. A poor showing by the coalition could shake investor confidence in the world's fourth-largest economy and disrupt critical trade talks with the United States, analysts said. Ishiba may have to choose between making way for a new LDP leader or scrambling to secure the backing of some opposition parties with policy compromises, said Rintaro Nishimura, an associate at the Asia Group in Japan. 'Each scenario requires the LDP and Komeito to make certain concessions, and will be challenging, as any potential partner has leverage in the negotiations.' After the election, Japan faces a deadline of August 1 to strike a trade deal with the United States or face punishing tariffs in its largest export market. Such import levies could squeeze the economy and further pressure the government to give financial relief to households already reeling from inflation, including a doubling of rice prices since last year. Japan will continue trade talks with US for mutually beneficial deal, Ishiba says With an eye on a jittery government bond market, the LDP has called for fiscal restraint and rejected opposition calls for major tax cuts and welfare spending to soften the blow. Ishiba's administration lost its majority in the more powerful lower house in October. That was the LDP's worst showing in 15 years, roiling financial markets and leaving the prime minister vulnerable to no-confidence motions that could topple his administration and trigger a fresh general election. 'The LDP has been running the government without resolving anything,' said Kaoru Kawai, a 59-year-old novelist who voted for the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Ruled by the LDP for most of the post-war period, Japan has so far largely avoided the social division and fracturing of politics seen in other industrialised democracies.
