August 28, 2025
Oil prices dropped slightly on Thursday as new US tariffs on India fueled trade concerns and expectations of weaker fuel demand with the end of the summer driving season.
Brent crude was down by 0.33% trading at $66.94 per barrel as against the $67.16 it closed previously.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate, WTI, dropped 0.25% to trade at $63.48 from $63.64 in the prior session.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Indian goods to 50% took effect on Wednesday.
Markets watchers are looking to see how New Delhi will respond to US pressure to curb Russian oil import while analysts have predicted that India will likely continue to buy Russian crude in the short term.
READ MORE; OPEC+ Hints On Raise In Oil Output By 547,000 bpd In September.
The Energy Information Administration late Wednesday, said, in the week that ended Aug. 22, US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 0.6% dropping about 2.4 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels, That was above forecasts for a 1.7 million-barrel decline.
Similarly, gasoline inventories slipped by 1.2 million barrels to 222.3 million. While the drawdown underscored strong summer demand, analysts warned that consumption is likely to ease as the travel season winds down.
Investor have cautioned over future demand pressure on prices, while there are expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September to lent support. However, analysts are of the views that lower borrowing costs could spur economic growth and boost fuel demand.
READ MORE; Oil Prices Drop In Anticipation of US Federal Reserve Rates Decision
Inventories fell by around 2.4 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels, above the forecasted fall of 1.7 million barrels. Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased by 800,000 barrels to 404.2 million barrels, the data revealed.
Over the same period, gasoline inventories decreased by approximately 1.2 million barrels to 222.3 million barrels. EIA data showed that US crude oil production increased by 57,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 13.44 million bpd during the week ending Aug. 22.
US crude oil imports fell by 263,000 bpd to approximately 6.23 million bpd, while exports declined by 562,000 bpd to around 3.81 million bpd over the same period under review.
