WTI Climbs Toward $70.00 Amid US Threats of Sanctions on Russia

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose to approximately $69.80 during Thursday’s early Asian trading session. WTI continues its upward trend, reaching its highest level in over a month, driven by market focus on U.S. President Donald Trump’s intensified pressure on Russia to end its war with Ukraine within a tight 10-day deadline.

On Wednesday, Trump announced plans to impose a minimum 25% tariff on India’s exports to the U.S. starting Friday, while criticizing India’s ongoing purchases of Russian energy and weapons. These threats have raised concerns among investors about potential disruptions to global oil supplies, boosting WTI prices.

Furthermore, Trump warned of additional tariffs on Russia if Moscow fails to make progress toward ending the Ukraine conflict within the stipulated 10 days. “The prospect of secondary sanctions on Russian crude has bolstered both WTI and Brent crude prices in recent trading,” noted Daniel Ghali, a commodity strategist at TD Securities.
However, a sharp and unexpected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories last week could limit further gains for WTI.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil stockpiles for the week ending July 25 surged by 7.698 million barrels, the largest increase since January, driven by higher domestic production and imports coupled with lower exports. This contrasts with the previous week’s decline of 3.169 million barrels and market expectations of a 2.5 million barrel drawdown.