Oil prices remained stable on Wednesday as markets awaited two key developments. U.S. inventory data and a high-profile meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday.
The meeting is expected to focus on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, a conflict that has disrupted global oil markets since February 2022. Analysts say the outcome could ease some sanction-related pressures on the energy sector.
“Investors are in wait-and-see mode,” noted ING commodity strategists, adding that a breakthrough could reduce geopolitical risk premiums in oil prices.
Market participants are also closely watching U.S. crude inventory data after the American Petroleum Institute reported a 1.52 million-barrel increase last week. Gasoline inventories fell, while distillate stocks saw a slight uptick.
Official figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) are expected later today. A Reuters poll of analysts predicts a 300,000-barrel decline in crude inventories. If confirmed, it could signal that peak demand from the summer driving season which typically spans from late May’s Memorial Day to early September’s Labor Day has passed, leading refiners to scale back production.
