Oil prices pulled back during Asian trade on Wednesday as traders weighed signs of rising United States crude inventories, although markets held near two-week highs.
By 3:20 pm AEST (5:20 am GMT) Brent crude futures fell by $0.44 or 0.7% to US$66.19 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dipped $0.39 or 0.6%, to US$63.28.
Both benchmarks gained more than 2.5% in the previous session.
The retreat followed a rally sparked by Monday’s agreement between the U.S. and China to ease their tariff dispute. The U.S. agreed to cut tariffs from 145% to 30%, while China lowered its duties on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%, pausing their trade war for at least 90 days.
Traders are also digesting preliminary data from the American Petroleum Institute showing U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.29 million barrels for the week ended 9 May, well above expectations of a 2.4 million barrel draw.
Official figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration are expected later Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
Geopolitical developments are also in focus as President Donald Trump commenced a high-profile Gulf trip. Speaking at an investment forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, he announced that the U.S. would lift long-standing sanctions on Syria and revealed a US$600 billion investment pledge from Saudi Arabia.
Simultaneously, the U.S. imposed new sanctions on roughly 20 companies accused of assisting Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff and its front company, Sepehr Energy, in shipping oil to China.
