Oil prices fell 3.5% on Thursday after Trump's comments that "killings during the suppression of nationwide protests in Iran are ending." This eased concerns over possible military actions against Iran and supply disruptions, Reuters reports.
By 10:55 MSK, March Brent futures fell 3.34%, to $64.30 per barrel, while U.S. WTI dropped 3.31%, to $59.97 per barrel.
On Wednesday, both benchmark grades rose but sharply reversed after Trump's statements, which eased concerns about a potential U.S. attack on Iran.
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump stated that he was informed about a decline in the killings of anti-government demonstrators in Iran and expressed confidence that there are no plans for large-scale executions.
"Selling pressure prevailed against the backdrop of expectations that the U.S. would not take military action against Iran," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment, a division of Nissan Securities.
Factors contributing to the decline also include larger-than-expected crude oil inventories in the U.S., he added.
"Although geopolitical risks remain high and unforeseen events could disrupt the balance of supply and demand, WTI is likely to trade in the $55–65 range in the near term," Kikukawa noted.
Additional pressure on prices was due to the fact that crude oil and gasoline inventories in the U.S. increased more than analysts had forecasted last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday.
Inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels to 422.4 million barrels for the week ending January 9, while analysts expected a decrease of 1.7 million barrels.
Amplifying the negative backdrop for prices, Venezuela began to roll back oil production cuts instituted under the U.S. embargo as oil exports also resume, three sources told Reuters.