{"id":113753,"date":"2025-04-17T10:32:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T06:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/?p=113753"},"modified":"2025-04-17T10:32:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T06:32:14","slug":"oil-prices-extend-gains-on-iran-sanctions-stronger-refined-product-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/oil-prices-extend-gains-on-iran-sanctions-stronger-refined-product-demand\/04\/17\/market-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil Prices Extend Gains on Iran Sanctions, Stronger Refined Product Demand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Oil prices rose for a second straight session in Asian trading on Thursday<\/strong>, fueled by <strong>renewed geopolitical tensions<\/strong> and <strong>supply disruption risks<\/strong> following the U.S. imposition of <strong>new sanctions on Iranian oil exports<\/strong>, while investors digested <strong>mixed U.S. inventory data<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of <strong>21:35 ET (01:35 GMT)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Brent crude (June delivery)<\/strong> was up <strong>0.4% at $66.10 per barrel<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>West Texas Intermediate (WTI)<\/strong> rose <strong>0.5% to $62.13 per barrel<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Both benchmarks had surged over <strong>2% on Wednesday<\/strong>, rebounding to <strong>two-week highs<\/strong> after a sharp pullback earlier in the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">U.S. Sanctions on Iran Target Chinese Refinery, Raise Supply Risks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest catalyst for oil\u2019s rally came as the <strong>Trump administration intensified pressure on Iran<\/strong>, unveiling <strong>fresh sanctions targeting Chinese firms<\/strong>, including a <strong>&#8220;teapot&#8221; refinery in Shandong province<\/strong> known for importing Iranian crude through back channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The new measures are part of Trump&#8217;s <strong>&#8220;maximum pressure&#8221; campaign<\/strong> aimed at <strong>cutting Iran\u2019s oil exports to zero<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sanctions also extend to <strong>vessels and intermediaries<\/strong> involved in Iran\u2019s <strong>shadow fleet<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The timing of the sanctions also coincides with <strong>ongoing nuclear negotiations<\/strong>, with talks recently held in <strong>Oman<\/strong>, and more scheduled in <strong>Rome<\/strong>, adding another layer of complexity to market expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">China Signals Openness to U.S. Trade Talks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Oil sentiment was further boosted by a <strong>Bloomberg report<\/strong> suggesting <strong>Beijing is open to restarting trade negotiations<\/strong> with Washington\u2014though with conditions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>China seeks <strong>\u201cmore respect\u201d and consistency<\/strong> from the U.S.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It wants discussions to include <strong>sanctions, Taiwan, and broader trade issues<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>While not directly energy-related, <strong>improved U.S.-China relations<\/strong> could ease broader <strong>market risk aversion<\/strong> and support <strong>energy demand<\/strong> expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">U.S. Crude Inventories Rise, But Fuel Demand Holds Strong<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)<\/strong> reported a <strong>515,000-barrel build<\/strong> in crude inventories for the week ending April 11, slightly above the <strong>507,000-barrel consensus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Total crude stocks now stand at <strong>442.9 million barrels<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This marks the <strong>third consecutive weekly build<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, product inventories offered a bullish offset:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Gasoline stocks<\/strong> fell <strong>2 million barrels<\/strong> to <strong>234 million<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Distillates<\/strong>, including diesel and heating oil, dropped <strong>1.9 million barrels<\/strong> to <strong>109.2 million<\/strong> \u2014 the <strong>lowest since November 2023<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Outlook: Geopolitical Risks Take the Driver\u2019s Seat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With <strong>supply fears returning<\/strong> and <strong>refined product demand proving resilient<\/strong>, oil prices could maintain upward momentum in the short term\u2014especially if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>U.S.-Iran tensions escalate<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>China and the U.S. <strong>resume structured trade talks<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Refinery demand increases heading into the <strong>summer driving season<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, the outlook remains sensitive to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Volatility in U.S. inventory data<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>OPEC+ supply dynamics<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Broader <strong>macroeconomic risks<\/strong> tied to the ongoing trade war and monetary policy shifts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, crude may test resistance near <strong>$66.50 (Brent)<\/strong> and <strong>$63.20 (WTI)<\/strong> if bullish momentum persists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oil prices rose for a second straight session in Asian trading on Thursday, fueled by renewed geopolitical tensions and supply disruption risks following the U.S. imposition of new sanctions on Iranian oil exports, while investors digested mixed U.S. inventory data. As of 21:35 ET (01:35 GMT): Brent crude (June delivery) was up 0.4% at $66.10 &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":60920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,6827,49,37,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-commodities-news","category-daily-economic-reports","category-economic-reports","category-forex-markets","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113754,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113753\/revisions\/113754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}