Oil Rises on Large US Stockpile Draw, Hurricane Jitters

FILE PHOTO: A pipe yard servicing government-owned oil pipeline operator Trans Mountain is seen in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A pipe yard servicing government-owned oil pipeline operator Trans Mountain is seen in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo
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Oil Rises on Large US Stockpile Draw, Hurricane Jitters

FILE PHOTO: A pipe yard servicing government-owned oil pipeline operator Trans Mountain is seen in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A pipe yard servicing government-owned oil pipeline operator Trans Mountain is seen in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada June 7, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier/File Photo

Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday after industry data showed a large draw in crude inventories in the US, the world's biggest fuel consumer, and as concerns about a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico kept investors on edge.

Brent crude futures for October climbed 31 cents, or 0.36%, to $85.80 a barrel by 0415 GMT. The October contract expires on Thursday and the more active November contract was at $85.23 a barrel, up by 32 cents.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 38 cents, or 0.47%, to $81.54, logging its fifth session of gains.

Both benchmarks rallied more than a dollar a barrel on Tuesday as the US dollar slid after the prospects of further interest rate hikes eased following softer US job data.

US crude stocks declined by about 11.5 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 25, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Analysts polled by Reuters prior to the data had estimated on average a draw of 3.3 million barrels.

The bigger-than-expected draw in US crude oil stockpiles is positive for the oil market as it suggest firm demand, said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities Co Ltd.

At the same time, investors bought futures on concerns surrounding Hurricane Idalia, which is churning over the Gulf of Mexico to the east of major US oil and natural gas production sites.

"Concerns over the Hurricane Idalia prompted fresh buying," said Tazawa.

The offshore Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15% of US oil output and about 5% of natural gas production, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Oil major Chevron Corp evacuated some staff from the region, but production was continuing at the sites it operates in the Gulf of Mexico.

Worries about fuel demand and the macroeconomic situation in China, the world's biggest oil importer, kept a lid on prices.

While China's economy regained some ground in July, following a contraction in June, the big picture is that various output indicators have levelled off recently and the economy could tip into a downward spiral unless policy support is ramped up soon, said Capital Economics analysts in a client note.



China Hits Back at US and Will Raise Tariffs on American Goods from 84% to 125%

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
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China Hits Back at US and Will Raise Tariffs on American Goods from 84% to 125%

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices as people walk on a pedestrian bridge at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura

China announced Friday that it will raise tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125% — the latest salvo in an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies that has rattled markets and raised fears of a global slowdown.

While US President Donald Trump paused import taxes this week for other countries, he raised tariffs on China and they now total 145%. China has denounced the policy as “economic bullying" and promised countermeasures. The new tariffs begin Saturday.

Washington's repeated raising of tariffs “will become a joke in the history of the world economy,” a Chinese Finance Ministry spokesman said in a statement announcing the new tariffs. “However, if the US insists on continuing to substantially infringe on China’s interests, China will resolutely counter and fight to the end.”

China’s Commerce Ministry said it would file another lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US tariffs.

“There are no winners in a tariff war,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said during a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, according to a readout from state broadcaster CCTV. “For more than 70 years, China has always relied on itself ... and hard work for development, never relying on favors from anyone, and not fearing any unreasonable suppression.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday said China stands firm against Trump’s tariffs not only to defend its own rights and interests but also to “safeguard the common interests of the international community to ensure that humanity is not dragged back into a jungle world where might makes right.”

Wang made the remarks when he met Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Beijing. Wang said China will “work together with other countries to jointly resist all retrogressive actions in the world.”

Trump's on-again, off-again measures have caused alarm in stock and bond markets and led some to warn that the US could be headed for a recession. There was some relief when Trump paused the tariffs for most countries — but concerns remain since the US and China are the world's No. 1 and No. 2 economies, respectively.

“The risk that this escalating trade war tips the world into a recession is rising as the two largest and most powerful countries in the world continue to punch back with higher and higher tariffs,” Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital markets, wrote Friday. “No one truly knows when this will end.”

Chinese tariffs will affect goods like soybeans, aircrafts and their parts and drugs — all among the country's major imports from the US Beijing, meanwhile, suspended sorghum, poultry and bonemeal imports from some American companies last week, and put more export controls on rare earth minerals, critical for various technologies.

The United States' top imports from China, meanwhile, include electronics, like computers and cell phones, industrial equipment and toys — and consumers and businesses are likely to see prices rise on those products, with tariffs now at 145%.

Trump announced on Wednesday that China would face 125% tariffs, but he did not include a 20% tariff on China tied to its role in fentanyl production.

White House officials hope the import taxes will create more manufacturing jobs by bringing production back to the United States — a politically risky trade-off that could take years to materialize, if at all.