Photo File: A graphic illustration of barrels of crude oil

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday after gaining more than 1 per cent in the previous session.

By 7:30 a.m. WAT, Brent crude futures were down 8 cents, or 0.1 per cent, at $68.39 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 6 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $64.46 a barrel. Both benchmarks had settled over 1 per cent higher on Tuesday amid concerns about possible disruptions to Russian oil supplies.

Reuters reported that Russia’s pipeline monopoly, Transneft, has warned producers they may have to cut output after Ukraine’s drone attacks on critical export ports and refineries.

Investors are also watching the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s September 16–17 policy meeting, where a 25-basis-point interest rate cut is widely expected a move that could stimulate the economy and boost fuel demand. The meeting will be the first with new governor Stephen Miran participating, while President Donald Trump continues efforts to remove policymaker Lisa Cook.

Meanwhile, data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) released on Tuesday showed U.S. crude and gasoline inventories fell last week, while distillate stocks rose. According to market sources cited by Reuters, crude stocks declined by 3.42 million barrels and gasoline inventories fell by 691,000 barrels for the week ending September 12, while distillate inventories increased by 1.91 million barrels.

The market now awaits official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) later Wednesday to see if it confirms the API figures. A Reuters poll of analysts estimates crude inventories fell by about 900,000 barrels, distillate stockpiles rose by about 1 million barrels, and gasoline stockpiles increased by roughly 100,000 barrels last week.