Oil prices steady as market weighs Trump tariff threats and US stocks build

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday as investors weigh the supply risks from U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine through more tariffs while a surprise build in U.S. crude stocks weighed on prices, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures for September, set to expire on Thursday, rose 4 cents, or 0.05%, to $73.28 a barrel by 0812 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September also rose 4 cents, or 0.06%, to $70.04.

Both benchmarks chalked up 1% gains on Wednesday.

“We’re looking for more clarity on the nature of new tariffs or implementation of sanctions on Russia,” said Harry Tchiliguirian at Onyx Capital Group.

The U.S. President’s history of imposing policies and then changing them a few days later has resulted in traders and analysts hesitating to price them in, Tchiliguirian added.

Trump said he would start imposing measures on Russia, including 100% secondary tariffs on its trading partners, if it did not make progress on ending the war in Ukraine within 10-12 days, moving up an earlier 50-day deadline.

The U.S. has also warned China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, that it could face huge tariffs if it kept buying.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced fresh sanctions on more than 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities and vessels, stepping up the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign after bombing Iranian nuclear sites in June.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels to 426.7 million barrels in the week ending July 25, driven by lower exports, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a draw of 1.3 million barrels.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels to 228.4 million barrels, far exceeding forecasts for a draw of 600,000 barrels.​

“U.S. inventory data showed a surprise build in crude stocks, but a bigger than expected gasoline draw supported the view of strong driving season demand, resulting in neutral impact on the oil market,” said Fujitomi Securities analyst Toshitaka Tazawa.