Crude oil prices dropped more than 2 percent overnight amidst fears of an imminent oversupply. Reports of a likely agreement with Iran paving the way for lifting of sanctions and potential restoration of Iranian crude oil supplies of roughly 1 million barrels per day sent both the Brent and WTI crude oil futures sharply lower.
The surprise addition to crude oil inventories in the U.S. also exacerbated the bearish sentiment in respect of the black fluid. Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed the stocks of crude oil in the United States rising by 0.59 million barrels in the week ended August 26th, versus market forecasts of a 0.63-million-barrel draw. Inventories had declined to the tune of 5.6 million barrels in the previous week. Data from the Energy Information Agency are due later in the day.
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Market Analysis
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.