Oil Slightly Strengthens, Ceasefire and Iran Export Permits in the Spotlight
Oil prices rose slightly on Wednesday (25/06) after experiencing a sharp decline over the past two days. This increase occurred because market players assessed the short-term effects of the ceasefire between Iran and Israel mediated by US President Donald Trump. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.1% to $65.09 per barrel, while Brent previously closed down more than 6% as supply concerns began to ease.
On the other hand, data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that US crude oil stocks fell by around 4.3 million barrels last week, adding to positive sentiment in the market. This follows a sharp decline of 11 million barrels in the previous week. The official report from the US government regarding stocks will be released on Wednesday evening local time.
In addition, President Trump also gave the green light for China to continue buying oil from Iran as part of an effort to maintain the peace deal. This step reduces pressure from US sanctions on Tehran for years. Oil prices had surged after the US bombarded Iran's nuclear sites last weekend, but fell sharply after the ceasefire announcement. Now, the market is still moving cautiously to assess the next direction.
Source: Newsmaker