WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices were moving sideways on Thursday due to tariff-related uncertainty. Escalating Middle East tensions and signs of strong U.S. demand helped limit losses, if any.
Brent crude futures for September delivery dipped 0.3 percent to $68.34 a barrel in European trade, while WTI crude futures for August delivery were little changed at $66.39.
Drone attacks in Iraq and Israeli airstrikes in Syria raised supply concerns, while U.S. inventory dropped signaled strong demand.
Traders kept a close eye on escalating violence in southern Syria, where Israeli airstrikes targeted Syrian government forces for a second day amid clashes between Druze militias and government-aligned Bedouin fighters in Sweida.
Drone attacks for a third day on oilfields in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region have slashed crude output by 140,000 to 150,000 barrels per day, but it is not clear who was behind the attacks.
Meanwhile, data showed a sharper-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories, highlighting tight supply.
U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 422.2 million barrels for the week ending July 11, 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday.
This drawdown was larger than analysts' expectations of a 1.8-million-barrel decrease and indicates tightening market conditions.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
