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The fourth day of gains in oil prices is due to supply concerns from Trump tariffs

The oil price rose for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday as investors were worried about supply shortages in light of President Donald Trump’s call for a quick resolution to the conflict in Ukraine, and his threats against countries that buy Russian oil.

Brent crude futures expiring on Thursday rose 27 cents or 0.4% to $73.51 per barrel at 0028 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude for September rose 37 cents or 0.5% to $70.37 per barrel.

Both benchmarks closed 1% higher Wednesday.

Brent's October contract, which is the most active, was up 29 cents or 0.4% at $72.76.

Toshitaka Takawa, an analyst with Fujitomi Securities, said that the concern about secondary tariffs on countries who import Russian crude oil will restrict supplies continues to drive interest in buying.

Trump announced on Tuesday that he would begin imposing measures against Russia, including 100% secondary duties on its trading partners if the country did not end the war in 10-12 days. This was a move up from an earlier deadline of 50 days.

Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States was still in negotiations with India over trade, after earlier announcing the U.S. would impose a 25 percent tariff on goods imported into the country beginning on Friday.

The U.S. warned China, which is the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil, it would face high tariffs if they continued to buy.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued new sanctions Wednesday against over 115 Iran linked individuals, entities, and vessels. This is an indication that the Trump Administration has intensified its "maximum-pressure" campaign following the June bombing of Tehran's nuclear sites. China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil.

The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories increased by 7.7 millions barrels to 426.7million barrels during the week ended July 25, mainly due to lower exports. Analysts expected a draw of 1.3 million barrels.

The gasoline stocks dropped by 2.7m barrels to 228,4m barrels. This was far more than expected, which predicted a 600k barrel draw. ?

Tazawa, from Fujitomi Securities, said that "U.S. inventories showed a larger than expected build in crude stock, but an even bigger gasoline draw confirmed the strong driving season demand. This resulted in a neutral effect on the oil market." (Reporting and editing by Yuka Feast; reporting by Yuka Obayashi)

(source: Reuters)