Oil prices rose for a second consecutive session during Asian deals on Wednesday, supported by industry data showing a decline in United States crude inventories and renewed concerns over supply disruptions.
By 3:30 pm AEST (5:30 am GMT), Brent futures for December were up 3 cents, or 0.04%, at $67.00 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures added 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $63.51.
Both benchmarks had surged about 1.7% on Tuesday after hopes for a deal to restart exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region stalled.
Talks between Iraq’s federal government, the Kurdish regional administration, and oil companies had aimed to resume pipeline exports of roughly 230,000 barrels per day to Turkey.
Shipments have been halted since March 2023, and producers are now seeking debt repayment guarantees before restarting flows.
Meanwhile, in a note to clients, ANZ analysts said: “The Trump administration has been floating the idea of additional sanctions on oil industry entities in third countries, which is likely to affect about a dozen Chinese and several Indian bodies.
"At the United Nations assembly, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said she’s looking to end Russian oil purchases by the end of the year.
"More immediate concerns of supply disruptions were raised after a Bloomberg report suggested Russia is considering restricting diesel exports after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged refineries.
"This has caused a 7% drop in output and driven domestic prices to record highs.”
Market sources citing American Petroleum Institute (API) data said U.S. crude stocks fell by 3.82 million barrels in the week ended 19 September.
Official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later Wednesday.
