Oil edges up as investors await OPEC+, tariff talks
Brent crude was up 54 cents, or 0.8%, to $67.28 a barrel at 1133 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 56 cents, or 0.9%, to $65.67 a barrel.
The market's main focus is the 411,000-barrel-per-day production hike that OPEC+ is expected to announce for August in a meeting on July 6, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen, adding that this was partially offset by potential trade deals improving the demand outlook.
'The market is now concerned that the OPEC+ alliance will continue with its accelerated rate of output increases,' ANZ senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes said in a note. Four OPEC+ sources told Reuters last week that the group - comprising OPEC and allies including Russia - plans to raise output by 411,000 bpd in August, following similar hikes in May, June, and July.
If approved, this would bring OPEC+'s total supply increase for the year to 1.78 million bpd, equivalent to more than 1.5% of global oil demand.
Investors are also watching trade negotiations ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff deadline of July 9.
Oil prices slip on easing Middle East risks
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that countries could be notified of sharply higher tariffs despite good-faith negotiations as a July 9 deadline approaches, when tariff rates are scheduled to revert from a temporary 10% level to Trump's suspended rates of 11% to 50% announced on April 2.
The European Union wants immediate relief from tariffs in key sectors as part of any trade deal with the U.S. due by the July 9 deadline, EU diplomats told Reuters.
Morgan Stanley expects Brent futures to retrace to around $60 by early next year, with the market being well supplied and geopolitical risk abating following the Israel-Iran de-escalation. It expects an oversupply of 1.3 million bpd in 2026.
A 12-day war that started with Israel targeting Iran's nuclear facilities on June 13 pushed up Brent prices. They surged above $80 a barrel after the U.S. bombed Iran's nuclear facilities and then slumped to $67 after Trump announced an Iran-Israel ceasefire.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
37 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Wheat and corn down 2-3 cents, soy up 7-9
CHICAGO: The following are U.S. expectations for the resumption of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) on Wednesday. Wheat - Down 2 to 3 cents per bushel CBOT wheat fell on pressure from the active harvests in the U.S. and the Black Sea, which are expected to be sizeable. However, the wheat market is underpinned by short-covering and bargain-buying after last week's deep losses, with prices trading close to multi-year lows reached in May. CBOT September soft red winter wheat was last down 3-1/4 cents to $5.45-3/4 per bushel. K.C. September hard red winter wheat was last down 2-1/4 cents to $5.29 per bushel, and Minneapolis September spring wheat was last down ¼ cent to $6.26-3/4 per bushel. Corn - Down 2 to 3 cents per bushel CBOT corn eased on Wednesday to remain near contract lows as favorable crop weather was expected to continue in the U.S. Midwest, reinforcing the prospect of a bumper harvest. Wheat up 2-4 cents, corn down 5-7, soy down 8-10 With a mix of showers and warm, mild weather set to continue, traders currently see limited threats to corn crops as they approach the crucial pollination stage. Upcoming rains will minimize dryness in the U.S. Midwest, an analyst note said. Meanwhile, rival exporter Brazil is harvesting what some analysts anticipate will be a record second-corn crop. CBOT December corn was down 2-3/4 cents to $4.03-1/4 per bushel. Soybeans - Up 7 to 9 cents per bushel CBOT soybeans ticked higher on short covering ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend as well as strengthening soyoil futures. Soyoil futures rose after a tax-cut and spending bill adopted by the U.S. Senate included a measure to restrict biofuel credits to North American feedstock. However, expectations of ample supplies have also weighed on the soybean market. CBOT November soybeans were last up 6-1/2 cents to $10.33-3/4 per bushel.
Business Recorder
40 minutes ago
- Business Recorder
Trump tax-cut plan returns to US House, Republicans divided on bill
WASHINGTON: The debate within President Donald Trump's Republican Party over a massive tax-cut and spending bill returns to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, as party leaders try to overcome internal divisions and meet a self-imposed July 4 deadline. The Senate passed the legislation, which nonpartisan analysts say will add $3.4 trillion to the nation's debt over the next decade, by the narrowest possible margin on Tuesday after intense debate on the bill's hefty price tag and substantial cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program. Similar divides exist in the House, which Republicans control by a 220-212 margin and where a fractious caucus has regularly bucked its leadership in recent years - though members have so far not rejected major Trump priorities. 'The House will work quickly to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill that enacts President Trump's full America First agenda by the Fourth of July,' House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement on Tuesday, citing the bill's extension of Trump's 2017 individual tax cuts and increased funding for the military and immigration enforcement. House Republican leaders set an initial procedural vote on the bill for 9 a.m. ET (1300 GMT). The House Rules Committee advanced the Senate bill overnight by a 7-6 vote with two Republicans - hardliners Chip Roy and Ralph Norman – voting against it. US Senate Republicans struggling to unite on Trump's $3.3 trillion tax-cut bill Johnson can afford to lose no more than three votes if all members are present, though a series of storms Tuesday night complicated lawmakers' travel plans, prompting some to drive through the night toward the Capitol. Hardliner anger over spending The loudest Republican objections against the bill come from party hardliners angry it does not sufficiently cut spending and includes a $5 trillion increase in the nation's debt ceiling, which lawmakers must address in the coming months or risk a devastating default on the nation's $36.2 trillion debt. 'What the Senate did was unconscionable,' Norman, a South Carolina Republican, said on Tuesday. One of several fiscal hawks who spoke out against the Senate bill's higher price tag, he accused the Senate of handing out 'goodie bags' of spending to satisfy holdouts. Trump for weeks has pushed for passage ahead of Friday's Independence Day holiday and kept up the pressure on Wednesday. 'Republicans, don't let the Radical Left Democrats push you around. We've got all the cards, and we are going to use them,' Trump said in a social media post. Democrats are united in opposition to the bill, saying that its tax breaks disproportionately benefit the wealthy while cutting services that lower- and middle-income Americans rely on. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that almost 12 million people could lose health insurance as a result of the bill. Trump's sweeping tax-cut, spending bill clears first US Senate hurdle 'This is the largest assault on American healthcare in history,' Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Tuesday, pledging that his party will use 'all procedural and legislative options' to try to stop - or delay - passage. The version of the bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday would add more to the debt than the version first passed by the House in May. The CBO on Tuesday raised its estimate for how much the Senate bill would increase the budget deficit through 2045 by $100 billion, to $3.4 trillion. The bill includes more than $900 million in cuts to the Medicaid program for low-income Americans. Those cuts also raised concerns among some House Republicans. 'I will not support a final bill that eliminates vital funding our hospitals rely on,' Republican Representative David Valadao of California said before Senate passage. Timing difficulties But some House Republicans worried about social safety-net cuts could find solace in the Senate's last-minute decision to set aside more money for rural hospitals, funding Representative Nick Langworthy, a New York Republican, called 'a lifeline that will be very helpful to districts like mine.' US Senate passes Trump's sweeping tax-cut, spending bill, sends to House Any changes made by the House would require another Senate vote, making it all but impossible to meet the July 4 deadline. Any Republican public opposition to the bill risks irking Trump, as was the case when the president slammed Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who announced his retirement after coming out in opposition to the bill. Another former Trump ally, the world's richest person Elon Musk, this week resumed an active campaign against the bill over social media, blasting its deficit-building effects. That has reignited a feud between Trump and Musk.
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
Paramount settles with Trump over ‘60 Minutes' interview for $16 million
NEW YORK: CBS parent company Paramount late on Tuesday settled a lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump over an interview broadcast in October, the latest concession by a media company to a president who has targeted outlets over what he describes as false or misleading coverage. Paramount said it would pay $16 million to settle the suit with the money allocated to Trump's future presidential library, and not paid to Trump 'directly or indirectly.' 'The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret,' the company statement added. Shares of Paramount were up 0.5% in premarket trading on Wednesday. Trump filed a $10-billion lawsuit against CBS in October, alleging the network deceptively edited an interview that aired on its '60 Minutes' news program with then-vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris to 'tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party' in the election. In an amended complaint filed in February, Trump bumped his claim for damages to $20 billion. CBS aired two versions of the Harris interview in which she appears to give different answers to the same question about the Israel-Hamas war, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Texas. CBS previously said the lawsuit was 'completely without merit' and had asked a judge to dismiss the case. Trump's legal team welcomed the settlement on Wednesday. 'With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people,' a spokesperson said. Trump escalates feud with Musk Paramount said it also agreed that 60 Minutes would release transcripts of interviews with future U.S. presidential candidates after they aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns. A spokesperson for Paramount Chair Shari Redstone was unavailable for comment. The case entered mediation in April. Trump alleged CBS's editing of the interview violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, which makes it illegal to use false, misleading or deceptive acts in commerce. Media advocacy groups said Trump's novel use of such laws against news outlets could be a way of circumventing legal protections for the press, which can only be held liable for defamation against public figures if they say something they knew or should have known was false. The settlement comes as Paramount prepares for an $8.4-billion merger with Skydance Media, which will require approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. On the campaign trail last year, Trump threatened to revoke CBS' broadcasting license if elected. He has repeatedly lashed out against the news media, often casting unfavorable coverage as 'fake news.' The Paramount settlement follows a decision by Walt Disney -owned ABC News to settle a defamation case brought by Trump. As part of that settlement, which was made public on December 14, the network donated $15 million to Trump's presidential library and publicly apologized for comments by anchor George Stephanopoulos, who inaccurately said Trump had been found liable for rape. Trump must put his words into action It also follows a second settlement, by Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta Platforms, which on January 29 said it had agreed to pay about $25 million to settle a lawsuit by Trump over the company's suspension of his accounts after the January 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. Trump has vowed to pursue more claims against the media. On December 17, he filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register newspaper and its former top pollster over its poll published on November 2 that showed Harris leading Trump by three percentage points in Iowa. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and an order barring the Des Moines Register from engaging in 'ongoing deceptive and misleading acts and practices' related to polling. A Des Moines Register representative said the organization stands by its reporting and that the lawsuit was without merit. On June 30 Trump dropped the federal lawsuit and refiled it in an Iowa state court.
