By Katya Golubkova
TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices slipped in early trade on Thursday after a build in U.S. gasoline and diesel inventories and Saudi Arabia’s cut to its July prices for Asian crude buyers.
Brent crude futures fell 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $64.65 a barrel at 0047 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 29 cents, or 0.5%, dropping to $62.58.
Oil prices closed around 1% lower on Wednesday after official data showed that U.S. gasoline and distillate stockpiles grew more than expected, reflecting weaker demand in the world’s top economy. [EIA/S]
Adding to the weakness, Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, cut its July prices for Asian crude buyers to nearly the lowest in four years.
The price cut by Saudi Arabia, key oil producer within OPEC+ – the oil producing group that includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia – follows the OPEC+ move over the weekend to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day for July.
The strategy of OPEC+ group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia is partly to punish over-producers and to wrestle back market share, Reuters has reported.
Meanwhile, Canada prepared possible reprisals and the European Union reported progress in trade talks as new U.S. metals tariffs triggered more disruption in the global economy and added urgency to negotiations with Washington.
“Uncertainty fuelled by President Trump’s shifting stance on tariffs has intensified fears of a global economic slowdown,” analyst Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank said in a note.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Tom Hogue)
