TOKYO, Jan 21 (Reuters) – West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices fell on Wednesday as pressure from geopolitical tensions and an expected build up in U.S. crude inventories outweighed a temporary halt in output at two large fields in Kazakhstan.
WTI for March fell 79 cents, or 1.31%, to $59.57 a barrel, at 0008 GMT. The contract rose 90 cents, or 1.51%, in the previous session.
Brent crude for March has not started trading on Wednesday yet but in the previous session the contract gained 98 cents, or 1.53%, to $64.92.
The contracts rose after Kazakhstan, a member of the OPEC+ group of oil producers, temporarily halted output at the Tengiz and Korolev oilfields and on strong China economic data.
Oil production at the two Kazakh fields could be halted for another 7-10 days after shutting down on Sunday, three industry sources told Reuters.
The oil output halt at Tengiz, one of the world’s largest oil fields, and Korolev, due to power distribution issues, is temporary, and broader market pressures from geopolitics and expected rise in U.S. crude inventories would instead persist, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said on Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there was “no going back” on his goal to control Greenland. His earlier promise of fresh tariffs on a number of European nations if no deal on Greenland was reached is risking lower economic growth.
U.S. crude oil and gasoline stockpiles were expected to have risen last week, while distillate inventories likely fell, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday, ahead of the Energy Information Administration data on Thursday.
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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