Oil prices fell by more than 2% in early Asian trading on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said that violence in Iran’s crackdown on protests was easing, reducing fears of a military strike on Tehran and supply disruptions.
اضافة اعلان
By 01:09 GMT, Brent crude futures dropped $1.67, or 2.5%, to $64.85 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.54, or 2.5%, to $60.48 per barrel.
Both benchmarks had gained more than 1% at Wednesday’s close but gave up most of their gains following Trump’s comments, which eased concerns of a potential U.S. attack on Iran.
Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief analyst at Nissan Securities, said, “Selling pressure prevailed due to expectations that the U.S. will not take military action against Iran.” He added that factors pushing prices lower included larger-than-expected U.S. crude inventories.
Kikukawa noted, “While geopolitical risks remain high and unexpected events could affect the supply-demand balance, WTI is likely to trade within the $55–$65 range for now.”
A U.S. official said on Wednesday that some personnel were being withdrawn from Middle East bases, following warnings from a senior Iranian official that Tehran would target U.S. bases if struck.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude and gasoline stocks exceeded analysts’ estimates last week. Crude inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels to 422.4 million barrels for the week ending January 9, compared with expectations for a 1.7 million barrel decline.
Adding to the pressure, Venezuela began reversing production cuts imposed under the U.S. embargo as crude exports resumed, according to three sources.
On the demand side, OPEC said Wednesday that oil demand is expected to rise in 2027 at a pace similar to this year and released data indicating near balance between supply and demand in 2026, contrary to other forecasts of a supply glut.
Reuters
