On April 22, 2025, during the Wednesday Asian trading session, oil prices continued to rise, mainly driven by new U.S. sanctions on Iran and a significant decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories. Additionally, President Trump retracted earlier threats to dismiss Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and expressed optimism about the U.S. trade relations, further boosting market sentiment.
As of 9:07 PM Eastern Time (1:07 AM the next day, Beijing time), Brent crude futures for June delivery rose by 1% to $68.12 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures also increased by 1%, reaching $63.58 per barrel. Both contracts rose nearly 2% on Tuesday, reflecting the market's positive outlook on oil supply and demand prospects.
In another major force in the oil market, the U.S. Treasury has imposed new sanctions on Iranian Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) giant Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his related enterprises. This move is part of the broader U.S. strategy to cut Iran's energy revenue, aiming to weaken financial support for Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Emamjomeh and his network circumvent U.S. sanctions, providing Iran with revenue by attempting to export thousands of batches of LPG.
Meanwhile, tensions between Trump and the Federal Reserve have eased. Previously, Trump had repeatedly criticized the Federal Reserve and its Chairman Powell, demanding more aggressive interest rate cuts. However, on Tuesday, Trump said he had dropped the threat to dismiss Powell and expressed optimism about the prospects of U.S.-China trade negotiations, believing that a potential trade agreement could lead to a substantial reduction in tariffs, although he added that the agreement would not completely eliminate tariffs.
Additionally, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a significant decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories by 4.565 million barrels for the week ending April 18, indicating changes in the oil market supply-demand relationship. Compared to the previous week's increase of 2.4 million barrels, this decrease suggests refinery activity may have increased or export levels rose. Market participants are awaiting official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to confirm whether these trends are continuing.
Overall, oil prices are driven by multiple factors, and market sentiment has been lifted, with expectations that the upward trend may continue in the coming days.
