Oil prices hovered close to recent two-week highs during Thursday’s Asian session, as traders weighed the impact of fresh trade measures announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and reacted to an unexpected surge in American crude stockpiles, which has fueled concerns about weakening demand.
By 21:55 ET (01:55 GMT), September contracts for Brent crude slipped 0.1% to $70.09 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dipped 0.2% to $68.23 per barrel.
Despite the modest pullback, both benchmarks remained elevated after rising earlier in the week, bolstered by renewed geopolitical instability in the Middle East following attacks by Houthi rebels on shipping routes in the Red Sea.
Trump Unleashes 50% Tariff on Copper
In a bold move on Wednesday, President Trump imposed a 50% tariff on copper imports, effective August 1, saying the decision aimed to revitalize the domestic copper sector.
He also announced a spike in tariffs on Brazilian goods—raising the rate from 10% to 50%—just hours after a public war of words with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had referred to Trump as an “unwanted emperor” during a recent BRICS summit.
Lula hit back at the tariff announcement with a warning: “any new tariffs would be met with retaliatory actions.”
The White House has begun issuing tariff notifications to several key U.S. trade partners. So far, this includes 25% levies on products from South Korea and Japan, among others. The escalating tit-for-tat measures have stoked fears of a broader trade conflict that could erode global energy demand—counteracting the market’s tight supply dynamics.
U.S. Oil Inventories See Biggest Rise Since January
Adding to market volatility, fresh data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed a sharp 7.07 million barrel increase in domestic crude stockpiles for the week ending July 4—the largest single-week gain since January.
The build caught analysts off guard, as consensus forecasts had pointed to a drawdown of approximately 2 million barrels, largely due to lower refining activity during the Independence Day holiday stretch.
However, there was a silver lining. Gasoline inventories fell by 2.65 million barrels, hinting at strong fuel consumption during the July 4 holiday.
This comes as oil markets digest last week’s announcement from OPEC+ to lift output by 548,000 barrels per day starting in August, fueling speculation that a potential supply overhang could emerge in the months ahead.
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