Oil Steady Amid U.S. Industry Report
Oil steadied after an industry report showed a big build in U.S. crude stockpiles, as the market eyed more trade attacks from President Donald Trump.
Brent was below $77 a barrel after rising nearly 4% over the previous three sessions. West Texas Intermediate was near $73. National inventories rose by 9 million barrels last week and fuel stocks fell, the American Petroleum Institute reported, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.
The market will be watching official figures on Wednesday to see if Canadian crude flows into the U.S. rose further last week after Trump’s tariff threats. The build would be the biggest in a year if confirmed by data from the Energy Information Administration.
The start of the year has been turbulent for oil. Prices initially rose on higher heating demand due to the Northern Hemisphere winter and U.S. sanctions on Russia’s crude industry, but Trump’s tariffs have threatened a multi-pronged trade war and dragged futures lower for the past three weeks.
“We expect Brent and WTI to remain in a range between $70 and $80, awaiting a catalyst,” said Stefano Grasso, senior portfolio manager at Singapore-based fund 8VantEdge Pte. “On the bullish side, tighter sanctions on Iran or Russia could push prices higher.”
There are signs that U.S. sanctions are having an impact on Russian crude flows. Several million barrels from platforms in the Pacific are stranded after the shuttle tanker transporting them to China was blacklisted, while Chinese refiners are offering ESPO grades at lower prices to attract buyers.
Traders will get a glimpse of the market when OPEC releases its monthly oil market report later Wednesday, followed by the International Energy Agency’s outlook on Thursday.
Source: Bloomberg
