Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, slightly retracing two-month lows touched in the previous session amid increasing supply concerns following United States President Donald Trump's decision to revoke Chevron’s licence to operate in Venezuela.
By 3:25 pm AEDT (4:25 am GMT) Brent crude futures added US$0.25 or 0.3% to $72.77 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $0.14 or 0.2% to $68.76 per barrel.
A day earlier, both benchmarks closed at two-month lows, weighed down by a surprise rise in U.S. fuel inventories, signalling potential demand weakness, and optimism surrounding Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) that he would reverse the licence granted to Chevron by his predecessor Joe Biden over two years ago, effectively ending the company’s ability to operate in Venezuela.
Last week, Trump reiterated plans to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), criticising the Biden administration’s previous releases aimed at lowering gasoline prices.
Market participants are also monitoring Trump’s ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace efforts. The U.S. president said that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy would visit Washington on Friday to sign a deal on rare earth minerals.
Zelenskiy emphasised that the success of the agreement would depend on peace talks and continued U.S. military aid.
On the data front, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed an unexpected 2.33 million barrel decline in U.S. commercial crude stockpiles, while gasoline and distillate inventories saw surprising gains, suggesting softer demand.
