NEW YORK- Oil prices edged lower on Thursday after an industry report showed a build in US crude stockpiles and as tariff concerns weighed on sentiment, falling back from gains made in the previous session on worries over supply disruptions in Russia.
Brent futures were down 22 cents, or 0.29 percent, at $75.82 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 30 cents, or 0.42 percent, to $71.95. The March contract expires on Thursday and the more active April contract eased 0.26 percent to $71.84.
Oil prices held near a one-week high on Wednesday.
Besides the higher US inventories, import tariffs announced by the Trump administration could dent oil prices by raising the cost of consumer goods, weakening the global economy and reducing fuel demand. Concerns about European and Chinese demand were also helping keep prices in check.
“It is natural to be concerned about the global economic outlook as Donald Trump takes a sledgehammer smashing away at the existing global ‘free-trade structure’ with signals of 25 percent tariffs on car imports to the US ” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief analyst commodities at SEB.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Israel and Hamas will begin indirect negotiations on a second stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal, which could weigh on oil prices by reducing the risk of further supply disruption.
However, worries over other oil supply flows limited losses. Russia said Caspian Pipeline Consortium oil flows, a major route for crude exports from Kazakhstan, were reduced by 30 percent-40 percent on Tuesday after a Ukraine drone attack on a pumping station. A 30 percent cut would equate to the loss of 380,000 barrels per day of market supply, Reuters calculations show.
