Benchmark Brent crude prices rose 0.7% to $66.23 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate prices gained 0.7% to $62.80 per barrel at 2.32 a.m. ET.
Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after a report by an industry body showed that the U.S. crude stockpiles fell in the past week.
Benchmark Brent crude prices rose 0.7% to $66.23 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate prices gained 0.7% to $62.80 per barrel at 2.32 a.m. ET. Both the contracts traded in the red on Tuesday due to concerns about easing sanctions on Russia.
According to a Bloomberg News report, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. crude inventories fell by 2.4 million barrels per day. Robust crude demand in the world’s top oil consumer will help alleviate some concerns about oversupply.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about the United States Oil Fund was in the ‘neutral’ territory at the time of writing.
On Monday, peace talks about Ukraine gathered momentum after the White House confirmed that the leaders of the countries in conflict have shown a willingness to meet. This followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
While the potential peace talks weighed on oil prices, Trump said on Tuesday that he was unsure whether Putin was looking to sign a deal. “We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks,” Trump said.
Separately, Indian buyers have once again stepped up purchases of Russian crude, as per a Bloomberg News report. Refiners such as the Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. have reportedly acquired some Russian Urals cargoes over the past two days.
On Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized India for its purchases of Russian oil yet again, saying on CNBC that some of the “richest families in India” benefited from the trade.
Traders have also kept an eye on the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole later this week. Powell will likely hint toward the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path, which could have significant implications for the oil markets.
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