WTI climbs to $67 on rising MidEast tensions

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading around $67.00 during the Asian session on Thursday, with the US crude oil benchmark climbing to near two-month highs amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the United States is planning a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to depart places around the Middle East, citing security risks in the region.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said he is losing confidence that the US and Iran can strike a deal over the nuclear programme. Trump added that the US would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Escalating geopolitical tensions could lift the WTI price in the near term.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report showed crude oil stockpiles in the US for the week ending June 6 declined by 3.644 mln barrels, compared to a fall of 4.304 mln barrels in the previous week. The market consensus estimated that stocks would increase by 100,000 barrels.

Trump said that the trade deal with China is ‘done,’ but details and confirmation from China were lacking.

Oil traders will closely monitor the developments surrounding US-China trade talks, but economic uncertainty triggered by Trump’s tariff policy could drag the WTI lower.

(Source: OANDA)