Oil Softens on Tariff Announcement, US Inventory Build


   
Karim Bastati
DTN Analyst

   VIENNA (DTN) -- Oil futures softened Wednesday morning, retreating from the 
recent two-week high following an industry report showing growing crude oil 
stockpiles in the United States and the announced imposition of a 50% tariff on 
U.S. copper imports.

   NYMEX-traded WTI for August was down $0.36 bbl to trade near $67.97 bbl, and 
ICE Brent for September delivery slipped $0.30 bbl to $69.85 bbl.

   August RBOB gasoline futures declined $0.0053 to $2.1797 gallon, and the 
front-month ULSD futures contract fell $0.0413 to trade near $2.4000 gallon.

   The U.S. dollar index gained 0.018 points to 97.190.

   U.S. President Trump on Tuesday announced a 50% tariff on copper imports, 
catching many market observers by surprise. At the same time, the president 
dismissed the possibility of another extension of the August 1 tariff deadline. 
The 90-day tariff freeze, which was set to expire today, has recently been 
postponed to August 1, at which point new, significantly higher import duties 
will be levied by the U.S. government.

   Higher tariffs are set to curb oil demand growth at a time when OPEC plans 
to significantly ramp up production, elevating global oversupply concerns. 
Eight member states shouldering some 2.2 million bpd in voluntary production 
cuts, in place since 2023, aim to fully unwind those by the end of September.

   The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported U.S. commercial crude 
oil inventories surprisingly surging by 7.1 million barrels last week, 
countering analyst expectations of a modest draw. If confirmed by official 
government data on Wednesday, this would mark the largest weekly increase in 
crude oil inventories since January. Official inventory data from the Energy 
Information Administration is scheduled for 10:30 AM ET release today.




(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.