Oil prices climbed Wednesday, bouncing back from a five-week low hit the previous day, as the possibility of tougher U.S. sanctions on buyers of Russian crude provided some upward momentum.
As of 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT), October Brent futures increased 1.5% to $68.67 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 1.6% to $66.18 per barrel.
Focus on Russian Oil Sanctions
U.S. President Donald Trump continued to threaten higher tariffs on India due to New Delhi’s ongoing purchases of Russian oil. Following last week’s imposition of reciprocal 25% tariffs, Trump announced plans to add further duties on India this week.
He criticized India’s continued Russian oil imports, accusing them of financing Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. India, which imports roughly 80% of its crude oil, has dismissed these criticisms and is expected to maintain its Russian oil purchases in the near term.
“If India were to stop buying Russian oil amid tariff threats, we believe the market would be able to cope with the loss of this supply. It would wipe out the surplus we’re expecting in the market through the latter part of this year and much of 2026. This would leave some upside to prices, but a manageable one,” said analysts at ING in a research note.
They added: “The bigger risk is if other buyers also start to shun Russian oil. This would require OPEC to tap into its spare production capacity quickly and aggressively to balance the market. This could result in significant further upside for prices.”
“We should get more clarity later this week, with President Trump’s deadline for Russia to strike a deal with Ukraine on Friday. There’s a US delegation visiting Russia this week. Reports are that President Putin may be willing to offer some concessions, such as an air truce, in order to avoid stricter sanctions and secondary tariffs,” ING noted.
Oil prices were also boosted by data from the American Petroleum Institute showing a much larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. oil inventories last week—4.2 million barrels compared with forecasts for a 1.8 million barrel decline.
Ongoing Concerns Over Supply and Demand
Despite Wednesday’s rebound, oil has faced sharp declines in recent sessions. The latest slump followed OPEC and its allies agreeing to raise production by 547,000 barrels per day in September.
The group has steadily ramped up output this year, raising concerns about oversupply during the second half of 2025.
Meanwhile, a series of disappointing economic indicators from the U.S. and China over the past week heightened worries about slower growth and weakening demand among the world’s largest oil consumers.
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