Oil prices clawed back some losses on Thursday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that India plans to soon stop purchasing Russian crude, according to commodity analysts Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson at ING.
India’s foreign ministry confirmed its intent to diversify oil imports while maintaining stable energy prices and securing reliable supplies. However, gains in oil prices were capped by a bearish inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute (API).
According to API data, U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 7.36 million barrels last week — marking the third consecutive weekly build. This was a significant miss compared to market expectations of a 136,000-barrel draw.
In refined products:
- Gasoline inventories increased by 3 million barrels.
- Distillate stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels, a move that sent mixed signals about underlying energy demand in the U.S.
Traders now await the official EIA inventory report, due later today, for further direction.