West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices continued their downward movement during the Asian session on Thursday, following a brief pullback from near the $73.00 mark earlier this week. The commodity dropped to $71.75, marking a new daily low, but appears to have ended a three-day losing streak for now.
According to sources citing the American Petroleum Institute (API) report, US crude oil stocks rose by 3.34 million barrels last week, which weighed on market sentiment. This, coupled with concerns over potential weakening of global demand due to US trade tariffs under President Donald Trump, has prevented a sustained rebound in crude prices following a recovery from this year’s low earlier in the week.
Further compounding the pressure, worries about slowing demand from key economies such as the Eurozone and China have added to the downtrend. However, concerns over supply disruptions from Russia could help limit further price declines. Russia reported a 30%-40% reduction in oil flows from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium—a vital crude export route from Kazakhstan—following a Ukrainian drone strike on its pumping stations.
In addition, some weakening of the US Dollar (USD), despite a hawkish Federal Reserve outlook, could provide a modest boost for crude oil prices. Traders are now awaiting the official US crude inventory data, set for release later in the North American session. Given the mixed signals from the market, caution is advised before making significant directional bets on crude oil.
