WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices fell on Thursday predominantly due to the switching of the 'hard-and-soft' stance by the US on Russia over the country's reluctance to stop its three-plus-year war with Ukraine.
WTI Crude Oil for September delivery closed was last seen down by $0.49 (or 0.76%) at $63.86 per barrel.
Russia remains immune to the US pressure whereby it faces a 'sanctions threat' on its oil exports in case of failing to strike a peace deal with Ukraine by tomorrow. Russia's billion-dollar oil export business could take a massive hit as the US has threatened other countries buying oil from Russia with high 'penalty' tariffs.
To mean what he says, US President Donald Trump had imposed a 25% tariffs on India, a major buyer of Russian oil, bringing the country's tariff liability to a whopping 50%.
India's oil purchases from Russia grew nearly 19-fold from 2021 to 2024, from 0.1 to 1.9 million barrels a day while China's purchases rose by 50% to 2.4 million barrels a day.
Today, Trump indicated that more sanctions could follow on other Russian oil buyers too.
However, US envoy Steve Witcoff indicated progress in negotiations after talks with the Russian government, leading traders to believe the US has mellowed its earlier hard stance. The Russian government officially stated that the premiers of both nations will meet in the coming days.
Data released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday revealed that US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.7% for the week ending August 1.
Separately, OPEC+ member nations agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 5,47,000 barrels per day for September.
Analysts feel that now that the November 2023 OPEC+ tranche is fully unwound, the April 2023 tranche is the next in focus.
Saudi Arabia also raised September crude prices for Asia for the second consecutive month, citing tight supply and strong demand.
Kuwait's oil minister Tariq Al-Roumi today stated that demand for oil is growing at a moderate pace.
Traders feel that if the tariff war concludes soon, it could result in smooth global trading which could increase demand for oil and energy and push up oil prices.
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