Oil steadies after rally fuelled by trade optimism, Iran remarks

Oil steadied after the biggest four-day rally since October, spurred by trade-war optimism and US President Donald Trump’s increasingly hostile rhetoric on Iranian supply. 

West Texas Intermediate traded above $63 a barrel after gaining almost 10% in the previous four sessions, while Brent closed near $67.

Trump said during a visit to Saudi Arabia that the US will exert maximum pressure on Iranian energy exports if an agreement isn’t reached on the OPEC member’s nuclear program, after the State Department earlier sanctioned a network that helps ship the Islamic Republic’s oil to China. 

Hawkish comments

The hawkish comments on Iran added to a rebound driven by softer-than-expected US inflation and lingering relief from easing trade tensions between America and China.

Futures have rallied from a four-year low on a closing basis at the beginning of last week, but are still down more than 10% this year.

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute said US crude inventories rose by 4.29 million barrels last week. That would be the biggest increase since March if confirmed by official data later Wednesday.