TOKYO- Oil prices eased on Thursday after surging the day before as worries about the impact of intensifying tariff wars on global economic growth and energy demand outweighed the positive sentiment from a larger-than-expected draw in US gasoline stocks.
Brent futures fell 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $70.88 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures shed 11 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $67.57 a barrel.
Both benchmarks rallied about 2 percent on Wednesday as US government data showed tighter-than-expected oil and fuel inventories.
US crude stockpiles rose by 1.4 million barrels in the latest week, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed on Wednesday, which was less than the 2 million-barrel rise forecasters had expected.
US gasoline inventories fell by 5.7 million barrels, more than the 1.9 million-barrel draw expected by analysts, while distillate stocks also dropped more than anticipated.
The EIA data also showed that crude inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose to their highest level since 2022.
“Declining US gasoline inventories raised expectations for a seasonal demand increase in spring, but concerns about the global economic impact of tariff wars weighed on the market,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment.
“With strong and weak factors progressing simultaneously, it has become difficult for the market to lean decisively in one direction or the other,” he added.
