DTN Oil Update
Oil Steadies After Dropping on 50-Day Russia Deadline
VIENNA (DTN) -- Oil prices stabilized Tuesday morning following Monday's losses which were triggered by U.S. President Trump granting Russia a 50-day deadline to end the war in Ukraine, easing near-term supply fears fanned by the prospect of immediate new sanctions on Russian energy trade. Following the announcement on Monday, front-month Brent and WTI contracts fell 1.6% and 2.6%, respectively.
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NYMEX-traded WTI for August remained little changed near $66.98 barrel (bbl), and ICE Brent for September delivery gained $0.06 bbl to $69.27 bbl.
August RBOB gasoline futures rose $0.0087 to $2.1741 gallon, and the front-month ULSD futures contract gained $0.0044 to trade near $2.3942 gallon.
The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.047 points to 97.810.
The White House's new, more confrontational stance toward Russia had raised expectations of immediate additional sanctions and stricter sanctions enforcement on Russian oil flows. While the President did raise the prospect of sanctions, including secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, he granted Russia a 50-day grace period, easing concerns over a further near-term tightening of physical markets.
A series of macroeconomic data releases out of China, meanwhile, revealed strong oil demand in June, but added to concerns over a slowing Chinese economy. Official government data showed crude oil imports and processing rates jumping last month, while retail sales and second quarter GDP growth slowed from their previous assessment period.