Crude oil prices fell more than 1.5% in mid-trading on Thursday, June 12, losing more than half of their gains of more than 4% on Wednesday. This followed positive results in negotiations between Washington and Beijing, which agreed to establish a framework for implementing last month’s Geneva agreement, which included a reduction in tariffs. This was compounded by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, with US crude (NYMEX) falling about 1.72% to $66.98 a barrel, while Brent crude traded at $68.62 a barrel, down about 1.66%.
US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw its personnel from the Middle East amid rising speculation of an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities if an agreement fails to be reached, and Iran threatening to bomb US military bases. Tensions eased on Thursday, with anticipation of a US-Iran meeting next Sunday in Amman. Meanwhile, data released by the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed a decline in US crude oil inventories of 3.6 million barrels in the week ending June 6, compared to expectations of a 2.4 million barrel decline. Gasoline inventories rose by about 1.5 million barrels, while distillate inventories, which include heating fuel and diesel, rose by about 1.2 thousand barrels.