Oil prices remained stable on Wednesday after falling for three consecutive trading sessions, as a US-Japan tariff agreement improved global trade sentiment, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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Brent crude futures fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $68.47 a barrel as of 09:07 GMT (12:07 Kyiv time). US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $65.17 a barrel.
Both benchmark grades lost about 1% in the previous session after the EU announced it was considering countermeasures against US tariffs, as hopes for a deal by the August 1 deadline faded.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and Japan had reached a trade agreement that includes a 15% tariff on imports from Japan to the US.
"The decline (in prices) of the last three sessions seems to have slowed, but I don't expect a significant increase from the news of the trade agreement between the US and Japan, as the obstacles and delays reported in negotiations with the EU and China will still negatively affect sentiment," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis company Vanda Insights.
China's trade minister and the head of the EU's foreign trade department held a "frank and detailed" discussion on economic and trade cooperation, as well as other issues facing both sides ahead of the summit, the Chinese ministry said on Wednesday.
In addition, US crude and gasoline inventories fell last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute data released on Tuesday. Distillate inventories rose by 3.48 million barrels, they added.
"This will bring some relief to the middle distillate market, which looks increasingly tight," ING analysts wrote in their note, adding that low crude inventories would provide some support to prices, even despite an expected significant supply surplus in the market at the end of the year.
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Another optimistic signal for the oil market was the statement by the US Energy Secretary on Tuesday that the US would consider imposing sanctions on Russian oil to end the war in Ukraine.
On Friday, the EU agreed on the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, lowering the price cap on Russian oil.