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• WTI price trades in positive territory near $63.20 in Friday’s early Asian session. 
• Oil traders will closely monitor Friday’s meeting between Trump and Putin for fresh direction. 
• US crude inventories built against forecasts last week. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $63.20 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The WTI edges higher as traders remain cautious ahead of a crucial meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Trump and Putin are set to meet later in the day in Alaska to discuss the Ukraine issue. Trump had earlier issued an ultimatum to Russia to end the war within 10-12 days or face further sanctions. Trump has also threatened to enact secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian crude, primarily China and India, major purchasers of oil from Russia.

On Wednesday, Trump warned that Russia will face “very severe consequences” if Putin doesn’t agree to end the war in Ukraine during their meeting on Friday. The uncertainty surrounding US-Russia peace talks could boost the WTI price in the near term.

The rising expectation that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut rates at the September meeting might drag the US Dollar (USD) lower and lift the USD-denominated commodity prices. Fed funds futures traders are now pricing in nearly a 94% chance of a 25 basis point (bps) cut next month, up from an 85% possibility before the inflation data release, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Nonetheless, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed an unexpected build in crude stocks last week. This report signaled a weaker demand and might cap the upside for the WTI price. According to the EIA weekly report, crude oil stockpiles in the US for the week ending August 8 climbed by 3.036 million barrels, compared to a fall of 3.029 million barrels in the previous week. The market consensus estimated that stocks would decrease by 800,000 barrels.

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