In Anticipation of American Inventories.. Oil Prices Rise

SadaNews - Oil prices rose slightly after three days of losses, as traders monitored levels of American inventories and the latest developments in the trade wars led by Washington.

Brent crude approached $69 a barrel after losing more than 2% during the previous three sessions, while West Texas Intermediate remained around $67.

Data from the U.S. government published on Wednesday showed mixed results, with distillate inventories increasing, while crude inventories on a national level declined.

Trump Escalates Trade Policy

U.S. President Donald Trump stated he will send messages to more than 150 countries to inform them of tariff rates, indicating that the tariffs could reach 10% or 15%. Investors are also following his stance on the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, after the president denied there was a plan to remove him from office.

Despite concerns that Trump's tariff campaign could reduce demand, oil prices have risen this month, continuing an upward trend that began in May.

However, anxiety prevails in the market regarding the possibility of a supply glut later this year, with summer demand receding and OPEC+ resuming supplies that had been restricted. Nonetheless, near-term indicators, especially in the diesel market, remain supportive of prices.

Low Levels of Crude and Diesel Inventories

Zhou Mi, an analyst at a research institute affiliated with "Chaoisternary Futures," stated that "the market is currently dealing with relatively low levels of crude and diesel inventories in Europe and the United States, while the shortage in diesel supports prices in the near term."

However, he added that "oil could return to a downward trend when growth in OPEC+ supplies leads to inventory accumulation."

In the United States, distillate inventories remain at their lowest seasonal level since 1996, despite the increase recorded last week.

Meanwhile, the spread between low-sulfur gasoil contracts and Brent crude for September, a measure of diesel production profitability, rose by about 7% this month.

In the Middle East, several oil fields in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq were targeted by drone attacks on Wednesday, marking a new episode in the recurring targeting of oil facilities in the area. However, the region has not exported any oil quantities to global markets since the closure of the export pipeline over two years ago.