WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices traded lower on Wednesday as tariff-related worries overshadowed expectations of firm summer demand in the world's two largest consumers, the United States and China.
Brent crude futures for September delivery fell half a percent to $68.39 a barrel, while WTI crude futures for August delivery were down 0.4 percent at $66.27.
Investors remain concerned that escalating U.S. tariffs on trading partners could hamper global economic growth and consequently dampen oil demand.
However, the downside was partially cushioned by expectations of consistent demand from the U.S. and China as summer travel and industrial activity peak.
The American Petroleum Institute reported another surprise build of 19.1M barrels of oil in U.S. commercial stockpiles for the week ending July 11, but gasoline distillate and Cushing inventories all showed a draw for the week.
In its monthly oil market report for July, OPEC maintained its oil demand forecast for the second half of 2025 and 2026.
Global oil demand growth for 2025 is forecast at 1.3 million barrels a day, year-on-year (y-o-y), unchanged from the previous month's assessment.
The forecast for 2026 also remains unchanged from last month's assessment at a healthy 1.3 million barrels a day.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
