DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures Climb Due to Low Oil Crude Stocks Last Week
HOUSTON (DTN) -- Crude oil futures increased on Wednesday following American Petroleum Institute data showing a weekly draw of crude oil.
The front-month NYMEX West Texas Intermediate futures contract for May delivery rose by $0.62 to $69.75 bbl, while the May ICE Brent futures contract was at $73.70 bbl, $0.68 higher than the previous trading session.
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In the refined products market, the April RBOB futures contract climbed by $0.0176 to $2.2980 gallon, and April ULSD futures increased by $0.0121 to $2.2980 gallon.
The U.S. Dollar Index rose by 0.29% to 104.09 against a basket of foreign currencies.
On Tuesday, the API reported commercial crude oil supply fell 4.6 million bbl last week, while gasoline supply decreased 3.3 million bbl, and distillate fuel supply declined 1.3 million bbl.
The bullish sentiment this morning was also supported by news that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacks in the Black Sea, which have disrupted oil exports and affected global oil prices, the White House said.
The White House said Tuesday that Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea, and ban strikes against energy facilities in both countries.
However, it is unclear whether the United States is willing to lift sanctions imposed on Russian oil trade after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 or if the price cap on Russian oil, set by the G7 the same year, will be eliminated following this agreement.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues targeting Iranian and Venezuelan oil trade with additional sanctions. Last week, the Department of State sanctioned a Chinese teapot refinery and eight vessels that were part of a "ghost fleet" shipping millions of barrels of oil produced by Iran to China.
President Trump announced that his government will impose a 25% tariff on any country that purchases oil and gas from Venezuela starting April 2. Those tariffs are expected to affect China's imports, as it is one of the largest buyers of Venezuelan crude oil.
Market participants remain focused on the announcement of additional trade tariffs to be imposed by the U.S. government on imports from China, Canada, Mexico, and the European Union next week.
