Oil Prices Drop as Investors Await US Election Results - Sarmad
Crude oil prices fell amid investor anticipation of US congressional election results and their impact on peace talks, despite a decline in inventories.
Translated by Qiyas from سرمد — Original source
Oil prices fell at the start of Wednesday’s trading as investors awaited the results of the U.S. midterm congressional elections and their potential impact on talks to end the war in the Middle East, even after data showed an unexpected drop in U.S. crude oil inventories last week.
Brent crude futures fell 26 cents, or 0.25 percent, to $103.34 per barrel by 0157 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 53 cents, or 0.55 percent, to $95.56.
In the previous session, Brent crude fell more than 1 percent to its lowest level in nearly four weeks, as traders closely followed talks aimed at ending the wars in Ukraine and involving Iran.
Vote counting is underway in the U.S. midterm elections, which will determine whether the Republican Party, to which President Donald Trump belongs, retains control of Congress for the remainder of his second term.
Markets are closely watching for any progress in talks to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, as Qatar has intensified mediation efforts to prevent escalation of attacks following the U.S. midterm elections.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that Iran and the United States remain far from reaching an agreement to end their conflict.
A U.S. official said yesterday that the United States carried out “defensive” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island targeting surface-to-air missiles used against U.S. assets. Another official said the strikes appeared limited and did not signal a return to large-scale combat operations.
Trump told the Financial Times on Tuesday that the United States has no imminent plan to strike Iran.
In a six-minute phone interview, Trump added, “It looks like we’re getting everything we want.”
Separately, crude oil inventories fell by 5.27 million barrels in the week ending October 30, according to market sources on Wednesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API).
The average forecast of eight analysts in a Reuters poll had indicated a rise of about 880,000 barrels in crude oil inventories.
Sources added that gasoline inventories rose by 1.43 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 1.19 million barrels compared to the previous week.
In a note on Wednesday, Haitong Futures said, “Diesel inventories remain limited, while gasoline inventories rose more than expected. These data generally support oil prices.”
Official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is scheduled to be released at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time (15:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
