Oil Prices Ease After Rally as U.S. Inventory Surge Offsets Iran Supply Fears

Reuters

Oil prices

Oil prices edged lower in Asian trading on Wednesday after reaching multi-week highs in the previous session, as investors weighed strong gains driven by Iran-related supply concerns against a sharp rise in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude for March delivery slipped 0.4% to $65.19 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 0.5% to $60.87. Both benchmarks had surged more than 2.5% on Tuesday, with Brent hitting an 11-week high and WTI a 10-week high.

The recent rally was fueled by escalating anti-government protests in Iran, raising fears of potential supply disruptions from one of OPEC’s largest producers. Geopolitical tensions intensified further after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of possible military action and threatened tariffs on countries trading with Tehran.

However, prices came under pressure after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 5.3 million barrels last week, far exceeding expectations. Gasoline and distillate stocks also posted large increases, signaling ample supply.

Markets are now awaiting official inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later on Wednesday for further direction.


PUKMEDIA