FX.co ★ Oil Falls for 2nd Day

On Tuesday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures fell below $67 per barrel, extending the 2.2% decline seen in the previous session. This drop was influenced by trader skepticism regarding President Trump’s latest campaign aimed at pressuring Russia, which many doubted would lead to a significant disruption in Russian oil exports. Trump has increased military support to Ukraine and threatened to impose 100% tariffs if a peace agreement is not established within 50 days. This move is perceived as a veiled warning of potential secondary sanctions targeting major purchasers of Russian oil, such as India and China. However, the market interpreted the 50-day window as mitigating the immediate risk of supply interruption. Nevertheless, there was some positive sentiment stemming from China, where refinery activity surged to 15.2 million barrels per day in June, the highest level since September 2023, signaling improved demand indicators.