Oil futures fell more than $1 by midday Wednesday, weighed down by concerns over global economic growth amid a possible trade war and rising U.S. crude oil stockpiles.
At 12:10 p.m. ET, March NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.70 to about $71/bbl and April WTI was off $1.60 to $70.75/bbl.
London-based ICE Brent for April delivery slipped $1.60 to around $74.65/bbl and May Brent dropped $1.45 to $74.15/bbl.
Oil futures have been on a roller-coaster ride of late due to jitters over President Trump's rhetoric to slap tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and talk to impose tough sanctions on Iran.
March NYMEX RBOB was 5.6cts lower at $2.043/gal and April RBOB slid 4.5cts to $2.284/gal. March ULSD was off 4.2cts at $2.388/gal and April ULSD fell 3.95cts to $2.34/gal.
The latest Energy Information Administration data showed U.S. commercial crude oil stocks jumped 8.7 million bbl for the week ended Friday. Gasoline inventories also jumped 2.2 million bbl, while distillate stocks declined sharply by 5.5 million bbl.
On Monday, Trump agreed to pause the tariffs for 30 days after Canada and Mexico agreed to take actions to beef up border security. The U.S. imports nearly 4 million b/d of Canadian oil, most of which is used at more sophisticated U.S. refineries in the Gulf Coast and Midwest.
However, Beijing already countered Trump's 10% levies on Chinese imports with retaliatory tariffs on certain U.S. energy exports such as coal and LNG and other products. In addition, it is uncertain whether Trump would resume imposing tariffs on the top U.S. trading partners after the 30-day pause.
Meanwhile, energy investors largely shrugged off Trump's renewed call to eliminate Iran oil exports, which could be highly bullish for oil prices.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 05, 2025 12:43 ET (17:43 GMT)
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