Overview
- Brent and WTI dropped roughly 3% in early Asian trade Thursday after President Trump said killings in Iran were subsiding, lowering odds of near‑term U.S. military action.
- Prices had climbed to the highest since October earlier this week as unrest in Iran added a geopolitical premium to crude.
- Official EIA data showed U.S. crude inventories rose by about 3.4 million barrels last week, with gasoline stockpiles up roughly 9 million.
- The API’s private survey earlier pointed to a larger crude build of about 5.2 million barrels, reinforcing signals of looser fundamentals.
- Venezuela resumed exports, with two supertankers departing carrying around 1.8 million barrels each, while Citi lifted its 0–3 month Brent outlook to $70 even as analysts noted protests have not reached Iran’s core oil fields.