Oil prices rose early on Thursday amid signs that inventories are low in the peak summer demand season and resurfacing geopolitical concerns in the Middle East.
As of 8:33 a.m. EDT on Thursday, the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was up by 0.98% at $67.01 per barrel. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, was trading at $68.88, up by 0.53% on the day.
Tight markets and falling U.S. crude oil inventories supported oil prices early on Thursday, despite the volatility caused by the uncertainty about the U.S. tariffs and trade deals and the pace of global economic growth.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.9 million barrels during the week ending July 11. Commercial stockpiles at 422.2 million barrels are currently about 8% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly report that the market balance is tight in the peak summer consumption season.
“Price indicators also point to a tighter physical oil market than suggested by the hefty surplus in our balances,” the agency said in the report.
“Prompt time spreads are in steep backwardation and refinery margins remain healthy despite implied stock builds of 1.74 mb/d in 2Q25.”
Prices were also supported on Thursday by drone attacks on oilfields in Kurdistan, which curtailed about 200,000 bpd, as well as the Israeli strikes into Syria.
Yet, price gains were capped by the market anxiety amid uncertainties about the U.S. trade deals.
“Near-term prices (are) set to remain volatile due to the uncertainty over the final scale of U.S. tariffs and the resultant impact on global growth,” Ashley Kelty, an analyst at Panmure Liberum, told Reuters.
Analysts expect lower oil prices toward the end of the year when peak summer demand will have waned.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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