WTI steadies near $69.50 due to US Oil builds, prospects for Brazilian Oil exports

• WTI struggles as the EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change showed a sharp rise in US crude inventories last week.
• Brazil could resume Oil exports to the US after several Oil products were exempted from the previous 10% US tariff.
• The US sanctioned over 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities, and vessels.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Oil price halts its three-day winning streak, trading around $69.60 per barrel during the early European hours on Thursday. Crude Oil prices struggle, possibly driven by a surprise build in the United States (US) crude stocks.

US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed US crude inventories jumped by 7.698 million barrels last week, against the expected decline of 2.50 million barrels and the previous 3.169 million barrels. The Oil stock marked the largest increase in six months and defying forecasts for a decline.

Additionally, the price of Oil faces challenges as Reuters cited the head of Brazilian oil lobby group IBP, saying that energy companies are expected to resume Oil exports to the United States after several Oil products were exempted from a 10% April US tariff. However, uncertainty prevails over whether the commodity would be exempt from the new tariffs announced on July 9 led to a halt in shipments for most of the month.

Oil prices may regain their ground due to rising supply concerns, driven by US President Donald Trump's call for resolving the war in Ukraine by leveraging additional tariffs. Trump threatened on Tuesday that he would impose secondary tariffs of 100% on Russia if it did not make progress on ending the war within 10 to 12 days, moving up from an earlier 50-day deadline.

The US Treasury Department announced fresh sanctions on Wednesday targeting over 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities, and vessels. This indicates a sign of the Trump administration's renewed commitment to its "maximum pressure" campaign after bombing Tehran's key nuclear sites in June, per Reuters.

Trump said late Wednesday he would impose a tariff of at least 25% on India's exports to the US starting Friday. He also criticized India for its continued purchases of Russian energy and weapons, threatening penalties over its imports of Russian crude. Moreover, the US warned China on Tuesday, the largest buyer of Russian Oil, to face huge tariffs if it kept buying Oil from Iran and Russia.