- WTI price loses ground to near $59.25 in Tuesday’s early European session.
- Tensions in Iran eased over the last few days after rumors of a US attack.
- Traders will focus on the Greenland situation after Trump threatened to escalate tariffs on eight European countries.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $59.25 during the early European trading hours on Tuesday. The WTI price edges lower as Iran supply fears ease, while traders closely monitor the fallout from the United States (US) push to take control of Greenland.
While there weren’t escalating tensions in Iran over the weekend, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said that 5,000 people were killed in this month’s anti-government protests, per Reuters. Easing tensions in Iran reduces the likelihood of a US attack that could disrupt supplies from a major OPEC oil producer. This, in turn, could weigh on the WTI price.
Traders will shift their attention to the Greenland crisis. US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would impose an additional 10% import tariff from February 1 on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom (UK) until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.
Trump is set to talk about Greenland at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. On Thursday, European Union leaders will convene in Brussels for an emergency summit. Fears of a damaging US-EU trade war could hurt market sentiment and exert some selling pressure on the black gold.
“With fears around Iran subsiding over the last few days after rumors of a U.S. attack, the market is now focusing on the Greenland situation and how deep any fallout between the U.S. and Europe could be, as any trade war expansion could impact demand,” said Rystad analyst Janiv Shah.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) crude oil stockpiles report will be published on Tuesday. A larger-than-expected crude oil inventory draw indicates stronger demand and could boost the WTI price, while a bigger build than estimated signals weaker demand or excess supply, which might drag the WTI price lower.
