Reuters :
Oil prices climbed around 1per cent in early trade on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying oil from Russia, which currently supplies nearly one-third of India’s imports.
According to Reuters, Brent crude futures rose 57 cents, or 0.9per cent, to $62.48 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 54 cents to $58.81.
The rise follows recent declines caused by US-China trade tensions and warnings from the International Energy Agency about a potential supply surplus next year.
Trump said Washington would now seek similar action from China as part of its effort to cut Moscow’s energy revenues and push for a peace deal in Ukraine.
India and China are the biggest buyers of Russian seaborne crude, despite Western sanctions.
Analyst Tony Sycamore from IG said India’s move could lift crude prices, as it removes a major buyer of discounted Russian oil.
Meanwhile, investors are awaiting fresh data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported mixed figures US crude stocks rose by 7.36 million barrels last week, while distillate inventories fell by 4.79 million barrels.
The buildup in crude and gasoline stocks indicates weak fuel demand in the US, the world’s largest oil consumer, even as distillate use shows signs of recovery.
Analysts expect EIA data to show a modest rise of about 0.3 million barrels in US crude inventories.
