Oil rises over 1% as investors weigh Trump's Russia stance, tariff threats
(Reuters) - Oil prices settled 1% higher on Wednesday as investors focused...
(Reuters) - Oil prices settled 1% higher on Wednesday as investors focused on developments on U.S. President Donald Trump's tighter deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine and his tariff threats to countries that trade its oil.
The Brent crude September contract, which was set to expire on Thursday, closed up 73 cents, 1.01%, higher at $73.24.U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 79 cents, or 1.14%, at $70, with investors largely shrugging off mixed U.S. data on crude and fuel inventories.
Both contracts had fallen nearly 1% earlier in the day.
The more active Brent October contractsettled up 79 cents, or 1.1% higher, at $72.47.
Dow falls 170 points after Fed signals no decision made yet on September cut
U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday after the Federal...
U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates unchanged, but Chair Jerome Powell said no decision has been made yet on whether policymakers are ready to cut interest rates in September.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 171.71 points, or nearly 0.4%, to end at 44,461.28, according to preliminary data from FactSet. The blue-chip index has fallen for three consecutive trading days.
The S&P 500 was off 7.96 points, or 0.1%, at 6,362.90.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 31.38 points, or 0.2%, ending at 21,129.67.
The U.S. central bank on Wednesday left rates unchanged for a fifth straight meeting, keeping them in a range of 4.25-4.5%. But Powell, in his post-meeting press conference, mentioned risk of persistent inflation as a result of President Donald Trump's tariff plans. He also said the Fed is prepared to maintain a wait-and-see stance when it comes to delivering rate cuts.
As a result, the odds of a September rate cut moved down substantially after the press conference. Fed-funds futures traders saw a 45% chance of a September cut, down from around 63% earlier in the day, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated...
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose this week, adding 1.539 million barrels in the week ending July 25. This is a stark contrast to the expected 2.5 million barrel draw that analysts had expected.
So far this year, crude oil inventories are up nearly 13 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data.
Gasoline inventories fell in the week ending July 25 by 1.739 million barrels, after falling by 1.228 million barrels in the week prior. As of last week, gasoline inventories were slightly above the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data.
Distillate inventories rose substantially again this week, by 4.189 million barrels after rising by 3.48 million barrels in the week prior. Distillate inventories were 19% below the five-year average as of the week ending July 18, the latest EIA data shows.
Cushing inventories—the benchmark crude stored and traded at the key delivery point for U.S. futures contracts in Cushing, Oklahoma—rose by 465,000 barrels in the week. In the week prior, Cushing inventories had risen by 314,000 barrels.
Fed leaves interest rates unchanged despite pressure from Trump
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate...
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the fifth straight meeting amid tremendous pressure from President Donald Trump to reduce borrowing costs.
For the first time since 1993, two of the seven members of the Fed’s board of governors dissented.
Fed Govs. Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman voted in favor of a rate cut. They have expressed concern that the labor market is weakening underneath the surface.
In a statement Wednesday, the Fed said the latest data show economic activity “moderated” in the first half of the year. The labor market remains solid, the committee said.
The historic transcontinental railroad merger is a go
That sound you’re hearing is every AP US History teacher racing to...
That sound you’re hearing is every AP US History teacher racing to update their syllabus. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern officially struck a merger deal to create the country’s first coast-to-coast railroad, the companies announced yesterday, less than a week after they were reported to be in talks. If approved, the merger would mark the first time in US history that a single company controlled rail shipments across the US. Three private companies built the first transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, but that only stretched from Iowa to California. The Wall Street Journal reports that regulators have been suspicious of rail mergers in the past due to worries that they will hike prices and lower safety standards.
