WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices fell on profit taking Wednesday after the biggest gain in six weeks the previous day.
Benchmark Brent crude futures fell half a percent to $71.31 a barrel in European trade after climbing 3.5 percent in the previous session as U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated he may impose additional economic penalties on Russia unless a truce is reached with Ukraine.
WTI crude futures were down half a percent at $68.84, driven by easing trade tensions and geopolitical factors.
U.S.-China trade talks wrapped up without major breakthroughs, with U.S. President Trump expected to take a final call on maintaining a trade truce.
After U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed displeasure at China's continued purchases of sanctioned Iranian oil, and its sales of over $15 billion worth of dual-use technology goods to Russia, Chinese officials said the country was a sovereign nation with energy needs, and oil purchases would be based on the country's internal policies.
Separately, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said that the deadline to impose major tariffs on a slew of trading partners won't be delayed any further and that a new pharmaceutical policy will be announced within the next two weeks. It is expected to be more stringent than before.
Focus now shifts to the official inventory data later in the day after the American Petroleum Institute reported a surprise increase in weekly domestic crude inventories.
The Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision may also impact oil price movements as the day progresses.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
