Ammon News - Oil prices slid more than 2% in early Asian trade on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said killings in Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests were stopping, tempering concern over military action against Iran and supply disruption.

Brent futures were down $1.67, or 2.5%, at $64.85 a barrel at 0109 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped $1.54, or 2.5%, to $60.48 a barrel.

Both benchmarks settled more than 1% higher on Wednesday but gave back most gains after Trump's remarks reduced fear of a potential U.S. attack on Iran.

Crude stocks climbed by 3.4 million barrels to 422.4 million barrels in the week ended January 9, compared with analysts' expectations of a 1.7 million-barrel draw.

On the demand side, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Wednesday said oil demand is likely to rise at a similar pace in 2027 as this year and published data indicating a near balance between supply and demand in 2026, contrasting with other forecasts of a major glut.

Meanwhile, China's crude oil imports rose 17% from a year earlier in December, while total imports in 2025 rose 4.4%, government data showed, with daily crude import volume hitting all-time highs in December and for all of 2025.

Reuters