Crude oil futures traded higher on Wednesday morning after the US announced a trade deal with Japan.
At 9.58 am on Wednesday, September Brent oil futures were at $68.86, up by 0.39 per cent, and September crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $65.57, up by 0.40 per cent. August crude oil futures were trading at ₹5,672 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹5,646, up by 0.46 per cent, and September futures were trading at ₹5,610 against the previous close of ₹5,590, up by 0.36 per cent.
US President Donald Trump announced that US imports from Japan will have a tariff of 15 per cent now. In addition to this, Japan has also agreed to invest around $550 billion in the US.
In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made. Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90 per cent of the Profits. This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it.
“Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things. Japan will pay Reciprocal Tariffs to the United States of 15%. This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.”
The trade deal with Japan helped improve market sentiments. Uncertainties about US trade deals with other countries had impacted the demand outlook for commodities such as crude oil.
In their Commodities Feed for Wednesday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said oil prices edged lower on Tuesday with ICE Brent settling 0.9 per cent lower on the day amid concerns over tariffs, with the August 1 deadline fast approaching.
Referring to the weekly petroleum status report prepared by the American Petroleum Institute (API), they said the US crude oil inventories fell by 577,000 barrels over the week, while crude stocks at the WTI delivery hub, Cushing, increased by 3,14,000 barrels.
“Gasoline inventories fell by 1.2 million barrels as we move through the summer months, a period of seasonally stronger demand. Distillate stocks increased by 3.5 million barrels. This will offer some relief to the middle distillate market, which has been looking increasingly tight,” they said.
The US EIA (Energy Information Administration) will release the official data on the US crude oil inventories later on Wednesday.
July menthaoil futures were trading at ₹896.20 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹892.30, up by 0.44 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August cottonseed oilcake contracts were trading at ₹3177 in the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹3150, up by 0.86 per cent.
August guargum futures were trading at ₹9,772 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹9,719, up by 0.55 per cent.
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Published on July 23, 2025