According to the industry body American Petroleum Institute (API), crude oil inventories in the US increased by 7.1 million barrels for the week ending July 4.
Crude oil futures traded lower on Wednesday morning after an industry report showed an increase in US inventories for the week ending July 4.
At 9.52 am on Wednesday, September Brent oil futures were at $70.04, down by 0.16 per cent, and August crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $68.20, down by 0.19 per cent. July crude oil futures were trading at ₹5,861 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹5,886, down by 0.42 per cent, and August futures were trading at ₹5,765 against the previous close of ₹5,786, down by 0.36 per cent.
According to the industry body American Petroleum Institute (API), crude oil inventories in the US increased by 7.1 million barrels for the week ending July 4. Market was expecting it to decline by 2.8 million barrels during the period. The latest industry data indicated a weak demand for the commodity in the US market.
Official data from the US EIA (Energy Information Administration) is expected later on Wednesday. This will give a clear picture on crude oil inventories in the US.
US EIA’s short-term energy outlook (STEO) report said that the Brent crude oil price in its forecast averages $69 per barrel this year, which is $3 per barrel higher than in last month’s STEO, which was released just before the conflict over Iran’s nuclear programme escalated in mid-June.
The increase in the forecast is driven largely by higher near-term prices due to a more significant geopolitical risk premium from the conflict. “Despite the risk premium, we expect significant global oil inventories builds will put consistent downward pressure on oil prices over the forecast period, with the Brent price averaging $58 a barrel in 2026,” it said.
This forecast was completed before OPEC+ announced on July 5 that it would raise production targets for August. “The announced targets are somewhat higher than the target we assumed when compiling this outlook,” it said.
Markets remained cautious about US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose trade tariffs on various countries. He ruled out any extension to the revised deadline of August 1. Investors fear that US trade tariffs would impact the global trade. This, in turn, could impact the demand for commodities such as crude oil.
Meanwhile, renewed attacks by the Houthis on vessels in the Red Sea provided some support to crude oil prices. Red Sea route is vital for crude oil shipments from West Asia to various markets across the globe.
Copper
July copper futures were trading at ₹891.70 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹890.50, up by 0.13 per cent.
In their Commodities Feed for Wednesday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said the US copper futures hit a record high on Tuesday — surging as much 17 per cent — after Trump announced a 50 per cent tariff on copper imports.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the copper tariffs are likely to be in place by the end of July. This would be the first time copper has faced import duties into the US. While the move doesn’t come as a surprise, the size of the levy is surprising. The market had expected a tariff of up to 25 per cent.
In February, Trump ordered a Section 232 investigation into copper imports. However, the 270-day deadline for the investigation would have allowed it to continue until November.
“This is likely to be positive for Comex copper prices, at least for now. More buying is likely before tariffs come into effect. However, a 50 per cent tariff on imports also risks demand destruction. Copper in the US is now up more than 40 per cent this year, with prices continuing to benefit from the front-running of tariffs,” they said.
Yet this will be bearish for LME prices, with the wave of copper rushing to the US likely to stop once the tariffs are implemented. At that point, US buyers are likely to start working through their inventories. There is now more copper stored in Comex warehouses than there is in the LME and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) warehouses combined. This will likely improve the availability of copper, ex-US, which would weigh on LME copper prices.
They said that the US is reliant on copper imports for domestic consumption. In 2024, the US imported around 8,50,000 tonnes of copper (excluding scrap), accounting for around 50 per cent of domestic consumption. Chile is the largest import source, at around 40 per cent, followed by Canada and Mexico. At least in the near term, it might be challenging to replace US copper imports with domestic production,” the Commodities Feed said.
NCDEX
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August dhaniya contracts were trading at ₹7,348 in the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹7,332, up by 0.22 per cent.
September castor seed futures were trading at ₹7,000 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Wednesday against the previous close of ₹6,990, up by 0.14 per cent.
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Published on July 9, 2025