Oil eases as focus shifts from Kazakhstan outage to inventory and trade concerns

Oil prices slipped in early Asian trading on Wednesday as traders looked past a likely short-term supply disruption in Kazakhstan and refocused on the prospect of rising US crude inventories and renewed macroeconomic uncertainty linked to trade tensions.

Brent crude fell 79 cents, or 1.22 percent, to $64.13 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 64 cents, or 1.06 percent, to $59.72.

The pullback followed a strong session on Tuesday, when prices were lifted by news that OPEC+ producer Kazakhstan had halted production at the Tengiz and Korolev oilfields because of power distribution problems, alongside upbeat Chinese economic data that raised demand expectations.

While the initial shutdown at Tengiz — one of the world’s largest oilfields — was seen as a bullish factor, market support faded as it became clear the disruption would be temporary. According to Reuters, industry sources expect output at the two fields to remain offline for another seven to ten days following fires that damaged power infrastructure serving the Chevron-operated Tengiz field and the nearby Korolev site.

Attention has now shifted to more immediate bearish pressures, particularly expectations of a build in US crude inventories. Traders are awaiting data from the American Petroleum Institute later on Wednesday, followed by the Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on Thursday.

Although recent weeks have seen intermittent price support from geopolitical risks and supply outages, analysts remain cautious about the broader outlook. The market is widely expected to face oversupply in 2026, and continued tariff threats from former US president Donald Trump are adding to economic uncertainty, raising concerns that further trade frictions could weaken global oil demand growth.