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Investing.com--Oil prices fell Wednesday, continuing recent weakness given concerns over the wider economic impact from U.S. tariffs, even as OPEC+ maintained its global demand outlook despite higher output.
At 08:50 ET (12:50 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in September fell 0.8% to $68.15 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 1% to $65.87 per barrel.
Crude prices have fallen almost 3% over the first two days of the week as U.S. President Donald Trump stopped short of immediate action against Russia, giving Moscow a 50-day window to end the war in Ukraine.
"No immediate action from the U.S. against Russia following President Trump’s ’major statement’ means that the focus returns to the expected oil surplus later in the year," said ING, in a note.
Additionally, Trump has threatened a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world’s largest markets.
The European Commission is preparing to target €72 billion ($84.1 billion) worth of U.S. goods for possible tariffs if talks with Washington to reach a trade agreement fail.
Oil prices have been under pressure due to concerns that President Trump’s new tariffs, scheduled to take effect August 1, could increase inflation and slow economic growth, negatively affecting oil demand.
OPEC reaffirms demand outlook, sees better economic growth in 2H
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) maintained its oil-demand forecast for 2025 and 2026, expressing optimism that global trade tensions will ease in the coming months.
It stated that the global economy could see stronger-than-anticipated growth in the second half of the year, despite trade conflicts.
“Supported by the past months’ developments, the forecast anticipates that reasonable trade agreements are reached with most key US trading partners, and global economic uncertainty is likely to ease further,” the cartel said in its monthly report.
“Looking ahead, refinery intakes globally, and particularly in the US, are expected to keep throughputs elevated to meet the seasonal uptick in transport fuel demand, especially that of gasoline, jet/kerosene and residual fuel,” OPEC+ added.
This comes amid continued production hikes by OPEC+, with the most recent increase of 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) for August.
U.S. crude inventories rose slightly last week - API
The American Petroleum Institute’s report for the week ended July 11 is expected to show a modest rise of 839,000 barrels in US crude oil inventories, according to a Reuters report.
Gasoline inventories rose by 1.93 million barrels, and distillate stocks rose by 828,000 barrels, the report said.
This comes after the previous week saw a 7.1 million‑barrel jump in crude stocks.
The surge was largely attributed to lower refinery intake due to the maintenance season.
Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article