FX.co ★ Oil Halts 3-Day Rally

On Wednesday, the price of WTI crude oil futures decreased to around $64 per barrel, halting a three-day rise, as market participants assessed the implications of drone attacks targeting Russian energy infrastructure. Industry sources reported that Transneft, Russia's pipeline operator, cautioned producers about potential output reductions following Ukrainian attacks on significant export terminals and refineries. However, Transneft later refuted these claims on its website, labeling them as Western misinformation. Meanwhile, European authorities expressed intentions to expedite the reduction of Russian fossil fuel imports and called for heightened measures to amplify economic pressure on Moscow. Additionally, investors closely monitored the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement, with an anticipated interest rate cut expected to bolster economic activity and fuel demand. In a separate update, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicated that US crude inventories decreased by 9.3 million barrels last week, marking the largest decline in three months.