The
crude oil market already on the defensive following Tropical Storm Barry’s failure to inflict the feared damage, received a White House double punch yesterday. Comments from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Iran and Trump’s threat to impose additional tariffs on China helped sent crude oil down towards the lower end of the current $56.50 to $60.50 range on WTI crude oil.
A day after Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif struck a conciliatory tone in an interview with
NBC News, Mike Pompeo said that Iran had signaled an openness to talk. While later toned down by Iran, it was Trump’s threat to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports which did most of the price damage. The risk of additional obstacles to global growth returned the focus to worries about demand.
Later today at 14:30 GMT the EIA will release its
Weekly Petroleum Status Report and if data from the American Petroleum Institute are repeated, we could see a significant jump in distillate stocks and a small reduction in crude oil stocks.