OREANDA-NEWS   Global oil prices have started to fall against the background of the release of data on commercial stocks of raw materials in the United States. This is evidenced by trading data on the London Stock Exchange ICO.

The cost of a barrel of Brent benchmark North Sea oil decreased by 0.7 percent by 18:15 Moscow time. Raw materials for September delivery fell to 68.11 dollars per barrel. Meanwhile, Texas WTI crude futures dropped to $64.84 (minus 0.72 percent).

Commercial oil reserves in the United States (excluding the strategic reserve) decreased by 3.2 million barrels, or 0.8 percent, in the week ended July 18. Currently, they amount to 419 million barrels. At the same time, a number of analysts predicted that stocks would decrease by only 1.6 million barrels, RIA Novosti reported. This trend indicates a more active than expected activity of oil refineries in the country, which may mean a reduction in supply and an increase in demand in the raw materials market.

Experts believe that US President Donald Trump's threats to impose sanctions on Russia's trading partners will lead to a sharp rise in oil prices. Finam analyst Nikolay Dudchenko suggested that oil will continue to rise in price in the summer of 2025, but its average price for the year will not exceed $ 70-71 per barrel. This is how the American leader's plans to impose 100 percent duties on Moscow's trading partners will affect the market, the expert explained.