Oil prices advanced in Asian trading on Wednesday, building on the previous day's gains as investors digested fresh United States sanctions on Iran, a drawdown in U.S. crude inventories, and a more conciliatory tone from President Donald Trump regarding interest rate policy.
As of 2:30 pm AEST (4:30 am GMT), Brent crude futures were up $0.56, or 0.8%, at $68.00 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed $0.55, or 0.9%, to $64.22 per barrel.
The gains followed comments by Trump on Tuesday, in which he eased off recent criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, suggesting he no longer intends to remove him from his post.
Trump had previously pressured the Fed to cut interest rates. He also hinted at the possibility of lowering tariffs on Chinese goods, further supporting market sentiment.
Adding to the bullish momentum, the U.S. Treasury imposed new sanctions on Iranian businessman Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his affiliated corporate entities.
According to the Treasury, Emamjomeh's network has been involved in exporting hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and crude oil to international markets, violating existing U.S. sanctions.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude inventories fell by approximately 4.6 million barrels last week, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute, indicating stronger-than-expected demand and providing further support for oil prices.
