Singapore — Crude oil futures were higher during mid-morning trade in Asia Wednesday amid expectations of a fall in US crude stocks and as sentiment continued to be swayed by the likely impact of US sanctions on Iranian oil.
At 10:30 am Singapore time (0230 GMT), ICE September Brent crude futures were up 46 cents/b (0.63%) from Tuesday's settle at $73.90/b, while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract was 26 cents/b (0.38%) higher at $68.78/b.
US crude stocks were down 3.16 million barrels for the week ended June 2, according to reports citing American Petroleum Institute data released Tuesday. Analysts surveyed Monday by S&P Global Platts had expected a 2.6 million-barrel draw.
More definitive numbers are due for release by the US Energy Information Administration later Wednesday.
"Crude oil prices rose as investors become increasingly confident that inventories would continue to fall," ANZ analysts said in a note Wednesday.
Meanwhile, sentiment continues to be buoyed by discussions around the impact of US sanctions on Iran that are due to snap back November.
Turkey, one of Iran's biggest oil customers, this week told US officials it will not comply with the impending sanctions, thwarting US diplomatic initiatives aimed to cut Tehran's oil revenues.
"We have told them we will not join these sanctions; we buy oil from Iran and we purchase it under proper conditions," Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Turkish daily Hurriyet.
Turkey is Iran's biggest oil buyer outside Asia and last year sourced almost half of its crude imports from Iran.
Separately, securing an early exemption from the US sanctions against Iran is among Japan's highest priorities for its energy security and refiners' needs, a senior government official told Platts Tuesday.
"Our principle is to get the exemption firmly," the newly appointed director of oil and gas at the Ministry of Economy, Ryo Minami, said in an interview.
The US government has said it wants Iran's oil export to drop "to zero" when sanctions kick in and has threatened other countries with sanctions if they do not cut off Iranian oil imports by early November.
As of 0230 GMT, the US Dollar Index was up 0.01% at 94.395.
