Benchmark Brent crude prices slipped 0.7% to $68.33 per barrel at 3.22 a.m. ET, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices fell 0.8% to $64.26 per barrel.
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday after a strong start to the week that came on the back of supply fears triggered by an escalation of attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia.
Benchmark Brent crude prices slipped 0.7% to $68.33 per barrel at 3.22 a.m. ET, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices fell 0.8% to $64.26 per barrel. Both contracts had notched 2% gains in the earlier session.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about the United States Oil Fund (USO) was in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing. At the same time, traders were ‘neutral’ about ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO).
Both benchmark crude prices had already advanced last week on a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. oil inventories, and a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump did not yield any significant results.
In August, Ukraine stepped up its drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. It struck the Novokuibyshevsk, Syzran, Ryazan, and Volgograd refineries, leading to shortages even in the sparsely populated eastern regions of the country.
“With the past week’s turn back to the upside, nearby Brent crude oil futures haveadded to the impression of interim support at the $65.00 mark,” energy analyst Tim Evans noted.
Separately, a Homeland Security notification confirmed the U.S. will impose an additional 25% tariff on all Indian exports from Wednesday due to its purchases of Russian oil. The fresh duties put the total levy on Indian-origin goods to 50%, one of the highest among Washington’s key trading partners.
According to a Reuters News report, traders are eagerly awaiting U.S. inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) to be released later in the day. Traders reportedly expect a possible fall in crude and gasoline stocks but a rise in distillate inventories.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<