SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged up on Wednesday following a report of tightening US fuel inventories amid an outage at Syncrude Canada oil sands facility in Alberta, which usually supplies the US.
Prices were also pushed up by looming US sanctions against Iran, which threaten to cut supplies to an already tight market despite pledges by producer cartel OPEC to raise output to make up for the disruptions.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 46 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $74.60 a barrel at 0343 GMT, compared with their last settlement. On Tuesday, WTI hit its highest since November 2014 at $75.27.
Brent crude futures were changing hands at $78.10 per barrel, up 34 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close.
Trading activity is expected to be limited on Wednesday by the US Independence Day holiday.
US crude inventories fell by 4.5 million barrels to 416.9 million barrels in the week to June 29, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday. Gasoline and distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, also fell, the API said.
“The draw in distillates was against expectations,” said Sukrit Vijayakar, managing director of energy consultancy Trifecta.
The decline in fuel inventories was largely down to the outage at Syncrude Canada’s 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil sands facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta. The outage is expected to last through July.
But brokerage Phillip Futures said the lower stocks come “as gasoline demand spikes on peak driving season in the northern hemisphere.”
Outside North America, looming US sanctions against major oil exporter Iran were the focus of attention.
The US government has demanded that all countries stop buying Iran’s oil from November.
To make up for potential shortfalls in supply from Iran and other disruptions including in Libya and Venezuela, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has agreed with Russia and other oil-producing non-OPEC members to raise output from July.
OPEC-member Iran, however, has warned it would not accept other producers reaping the benefits by taking its market share.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday said it was “unwise to imagine that some day all producer countries will be able to export their surplus oil and Iran will not be able to export its oil.”
Oil prices edge up as US supply tightens, Iran sanctions loom
Oil prices edge up as US supply tightens, Iran sanctions loom
Closing Bell: Saudi main market edges up to close at 11,328
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed slightly higher on Tuesday, rising 0.07 percent, or 7.43 points, to finish at 11,328.52.
The parallel Nomu market also gained, up 0.13 percent, or 30.68 points, to 24,043.71, with 46 stocks advancing and 33 declining.
The MT30 index ended in positive territory at 1,527.14 points, up 0.19 percent. Market breadth was slightly negative, with 112 gainers against 140 decliners. Total trading volume reached 220.3 million shares, valued at SR5 billion ($1.3 billion), according to exchange data.
Among the session’s top performers, Saudi Chemical Co. rose 8.04 percent to SR8.33, Etihad GO Telecom Co. gained 6.83 percent to close at SR98.55, and Cherry Trading Co. climbed 5.84 percent to SR30.80. Arabian Contracting Services Co. advanced 4.99 percent to SR126.20, while United Carton Industries Co. rose 4.18 percent to SR26.44.
On the downside, Elm Co. led losses, falling 3.44 percent to SR743.50, followed by Knowledge Economic City, which declined 2.67 percent to SR12.74, and Aljazira Takaful Taawuni Co., which slipped 2.45 percent to SR11.92.
Makkah Construction and Development Co. fell 2.13 percent to SR89.65, while Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. eased 2.07 percent to SR227.60.
Etihad GO Telecom Co. also released its consolidated interim results for the nine months ending Dec. 31, 2025, reporting strong growth across its business segments. Revenues rose 34.3 percent year on year to SR1.39 billion, while net profit attributable to shareholders increased 22.4 percent to SR197 million. During the most recent quarter, revenue reached SR489 million, up from SR382 million in the same period last year, and net profit rose to SR70 million from SR55 million.
The company attributed the gains to higher revenue from its B2B, wholesale, and B2C segments, increased demand for voice and fiber services, and contributions from its subsidiary, Ejad Technology.
Separately, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. completed the issuance of $4 billion in international bonds under its Global Medium-Term Note Program, comprising 20,000 US dollar-denominated bonds with maturities of three, five, 10, and 30 years, carrying coupon rates of 4 to 6 percent, and expected to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
