Oil prices traded within a narrow range on Wednesday in Asia as investors monitored developments in the Ukraine conflict and assessed the impact of hefty United States tariffs on Indian exports, a move affecting the world’s third-largest crude consumer.
By 3:20 pm AEST (5:20 am GMT), Brent crude futures were up just 4 cents or 0.1% to US$67.26 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was unchanged at US$63.25 per barrel.
Both benchmarks had fallen more than 2.2% on Tuesday after starting the week at a two-week high.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he would meet Ukrainian representatives in New York this week, while also confirming that Washington remained in talks with Russia as part of its efforts to end the war.
Adding to investor focus, tariffs of 25% on Indian exports took effect on Wednesday, lifting overall duties to 50% - among the highest levels imposed by Washington.
President Donald Trump has said the increased charges are a direct response to India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil, which surged after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Indian refiners initially scaled back Russian crude imports after the tariff announcements and following stricter EU sanctions on Russia-linked Nayara Energy.
However, state-owned Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum have resumed buying Russian supplies for September and October, company sources told Reuters last week.
Indian Oil, the country’s largest refiner, has said it will continue to purchase Russian crude “depending on the economics.”
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine continues to influence global oil flows. Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries have forced them to curtail operations, leading to higher exports of crude that they can no longer process domestically.
