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SINGAPORE: Oil prices eased on Thursday as investors weighed the risk of supply shortages amid US President Donald Trump’s push for a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine through more tariffs, though a surprise build in US crude stocks weighed on prices.

Brent crude futures for September, set to expire on Thursday, fell 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $73.06 a barrel at 8:50 Saudi time. The more active Brent October contract was down 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $72.21.

US West Texas Intermediate crude for September dropped 17 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $69.83 a barrel.

Both benchmarks settled 1 percent higher on Wednesday.

“Oil contracts have been caught in a holding pattern today, oscillating within a tight range as neither buyers nor sellers muster the conviction to take prices decisively higher or lower, especially on the crux of the August 1 deadline” for new US tariffs, said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

“On one hand, Trump’s hawkish rhetoric on Russian oil sanctions continues to underpin tight-market premiums; on the other, a firm dollar, tepid global growth indicators, and that surprise EIA build are capping gains,” Sachdeva added.

Trump said he would start imposing measures on Russia, including 100 percent secondary tariffs on its trading partners, if it did not make progress on ending the war within 10-12 days, moving up an earlier 50-day deadline.

“Concerns that secondary tariffs on countries importing Russian crude will tighten supplies continue to drive buying interest,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.

The US has also warned China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, that it could face huge tariffs if it kept buying.

On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department announced fresh sanctions on over 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities and vessels, in a sign the Trump administration is doubling down on its “maximum pressure” campaign after bombing Tehran’s key nuclear sites in June.

Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories rose by 7.7 million barrels in the week ending July 25 to 426.7 million barrels, driven by lower exports, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Analysts had expected a 1.3 million-barrel draw.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels to 228.4 million barrels, far exceeding forecasts for a 600,000-barrel draw.​

“US inventory data showed a surprise build in crude stocks, but a bigger-than-expected gasoline draw supported the view of strong driving season demand, resulting in a neutral impact on oil market,” Fujitomi Securities’ Tazawa said.

RIYADH: Education spending in ������Ƶ increased by 3.6 percent in the week ending July 26, driving total point-of-sale transactions to SR11.87 billion ($3.16 billion), even as most other sectors saw declines. 

Total POS value remained above the $3 billion mark for the fifth consecutive week despite a 2.7 percent weekly drop, underscoring the resilience of consumer activity across the Kingdom, according to data from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA. 

The education sector recorded SR111.18 million in transaction value, with the number of transactions slipping 4.1 percent to 140,000, while overall POS transactions across all sectors declined 2.9 percent to 206.46 million. The hotels sector saw a 1.3 percent increase to SR291.07 million. 

On July 29, the Saudi Cabinet approved the new statistics law, enhancing the Kingdom’s POS reporting with more detailed retail market insights. This update introduces refined subcategories in POS data, improving transparency and supporting data-driven decision-making in line with Vision 2030. 

According to SAMA’s bulletin, the subcategory of books and stationery saw the largest decrease, dropping by 5.8 percent to SR98.11 million. Spending on airlines ranked next, dropping 5.6 percent to SR65.20 million. 

Food and beverages, the sector with the biggest share of total POS value, recorded a 1.8 percent decrease to SR1.70 billion, while the restaurants and cafes sector saw a 2.4 percent decrease, totaling SR1.55 billion and claiming the second-biggest share of this week’s POS. 

Spending on transportation ranked third despite a 2.2 percent decline to SR945.76 million. 

The top three categories accounted for approximately 35.3 percent of the week’s total spending, amounting to SR4.19 billion. 

The smallest decline was seen in spending on freight transport, postal and courier services which decreased by 0.9 percent to SR36.13 million, followed by expenditure on telecommunication, which saw a 1 percent dip to SR131.86 million. 

Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, with expenses in the capital reaching SR4.1 billion, a 2.7 percent decrease from the previous week.  

Jeddah followed closely with a 3.1 percent dip to SR1.70 billion, while Dammam ranked third, down 2.8 percent to SR566.81 million. 

Al-Jubail saw the smallest increase, inching up 0.6 percent to SR123.04 million, followed by Al-Baha with a 0.7 percent increase to SR76.12 million. 

Hail recorded 3.54 million deals in transaction volume, down 3.2 percent from the previous week, while Tabuk reached 3.93 million transactions, dropping 4.3 percent.