By Enes Tunagur
LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices fell for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, as investors assessed trade developments including a U.S. tariff deal with Japan ahead of a U.S. stocks data announcement.
Brent crude futures were down 35 cents, or 0.5%, at $68.24 a barrel as of 1246 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 33 cents, or 0.5%, at $64.98 per barrel.
Both benchmarks lost about 1% in the previous session after the EU said it was considering countermeasures against U.S. tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. and Japan had struck a trade deal that included a 15% tariff on U.S. imports from Japan.
“The slide (in prices) of the past three sessions appears to have abated but I don’t expect much of an upward impetus from news of the U.S.-Japan trade deal as the hurdles and delays being reported in talks with the EU and China will remain a drag on sentiment,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
The European Commission plans to submit counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods for approval to EU members, while the Commission’s primary focus is to achieve a negotiated outcome with the United States to avert 30% U.S. tariffs.
Investors are awaiting U.S. oil inventory data from the Energy Information Administration later on Wednesday.
In another bullish sign for the crude market, the U.S. energy secretary said on Tuesday that the U.S. would consider sanctioning Russian oil to end the war in Ukraine.
The EU on Friday agreed its 18th sanctions package against Russia, lowering the price cap for Russian crude.
On the physical supply side, Azeri BTC crude oil loadings from the Turkish port of Ceyhan resumed on Wednesday, after increased checks linked to a contamination issue delayed loadings in recent days, several industry sources told Reuters.
(Reporting by Enes Tunagur ın London, Mohi Narayan in New Delhi, additional reporting by Colleen Howe in Beijing; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Bernadette Baum and Ed Osmond)
