SINGAPORE: Oil prices eased on Thursday as investors weighed the risk of supply shortages amid US President Donald Trump’s push for a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine through more tariffs, though a surprise build in US crude stocks weighed on prices.
Brent crude futures for September, set to expire on Thursday, fell 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $73.06 a barrel at 8:50 Saudi time. The more active Brent October contract was down 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $72.21.
US West Texas Intermediate crude for September dropped 17 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $69.83 a barrel.
Both benchmarks settled 1 percent higher on Wednesday.
“Oil contracts have been caught in a holding pattern today, oscillating within a tight range as neither buyers nor sellers muster the conviction to take prices decisively higher or lower, especially on the crux of the August 1 deadline” for new US tariffs, said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
