Oil prices fell about 1% on Wednesday after Kazakhstan "showed an audacious tone" regarding increased oil production, negating previous gains amid US sanctions against Iran, amid falling US oil inventories and a softer tone from President Donald Trump on China, UNN writes, citing Reuters.
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Brent crude futures fell 61 cents, or 0.9%, to $66.83 at 13:21 GMT (16:21 Kyiv time), while US West Texas Intermediate crude lost 55 cents, or 0.86%, to $63.12.
Earlier in the session, Brent traded at $68.65 a barrel, its highest since April 4.
Sending bearish signals, Kazakhstan's new energy minister told Reuters that his country would prioritize national interests over those of the OPEC+ producer group when making decisions about oil production levels.
Kazakhstan has angered other OPEC+ members by producing more than its allocated quotas, the publication writes.
Setting a lower price limit, the US imposed new sanctions against an Iranian shipping magnate whose network handles hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil.
Oil prices rose due to sanctions against Iran and a drop in US stocks23.04.25, 04:43
Additional support for prices came from US oil inventories, which fell by about 4.6 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories fell by 2.2 million barrels and distillate inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels, market sources said, citing data from the American Institute.
Fueling hopes for higher energy demand, Trump signaled on Tuesday that tariffs on Chinese imports could be lowered. China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the US must stop threatening if it wants to reach a deal.
Trump also backed away from threats to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell after days of criticizing the Fed for not lowering interest rates.