SINGAPORE: Oil prices climbed more than 1 percent on Wednesday, extending the prior day’s gains, as investors weighed a fresh round of US sanctions on Iran, a drop in US crude stocks and a softer tone from President Donald Trump toward the Federal Reserve.

Brent crude futures climbed $1, or 1.5 percent, to $68.44 a barrel at 9:40 a.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 99 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $64.66 a barrel.

The US issued new sanctions targeting Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil shipping magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network on Tuesday.

Emamjomeh’s network is responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets, the US Treasury said in a statement.

“The US issued fresh sanctions targeting Iranian energy supplies, which worried markets,” said senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva at Phillip Nova.

Both benchmark prices this morning were also backed by hopes of a positive outcome between the US and China over import tariffs, Sachdeva said.

Trump on Tuesday backed away from the threat of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell after days of criticism for the Fed not cutting interest rates. Trump also signalled the possibility of lower tariffs on Chinese imports.

Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories fell by around 4.6 million barrels last week, market sources said on Tuesday citing American Petroleum Institute data.

US government data on oil stockpiles is due at 5:30 p.m. Saudi time on Wednesday. Analysts on average estimated an 800,000 barrel decline in US crude oil stocks last week, a Reuters poll showed.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday he would be “nice” in negotiations with China and that tariffs would fall significantly following a deal, but not to zero.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believed there would be a de-escalation in US-China trade tension but that negotiations had not yet started and would be a “slog,” a person who heard his closed-door presentation to investors at a JP Morgan conference told Reuters.

Trade tariffs have weighed on crude futures on investor concern about their potential to slow global economic growth.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center raised SR3.71 billion ($990 million) through its riyal-denominated sukuk issuance for April, reflecting a 40.5 percent increase compared to the previous month, according to an official statement.

The amount marks a significant rise from March, when the Kingdom secured SR2.64 billion through sukuk. In previous months, Saudi Arabia issued SR3.07 billion in February and SR3.72 billion in January, continuing a trend of strong activity in the domestic debt market.

Sukuk are Shariah-compliant financial instruments similar to bonds, offering investors partial ownership in an issuer’s assets. They are structured to adhere to Islamic finance principles, which prohibit interest payments.

According to the NDMC, the April issuance was divided into four tranches. The first tranche was valued at SR1.31 billion and is set to mature in 2029. The second amounted to SR80 million, maturing in 2032, while the third tranche, worth SR765 million, will expire in 2036. The largest portion, valued at SR1.55 billion, is due in 2039.

The Kingdom’s debt market has seen rapid growth in recent years, drawing increased interest from investors seeking fixed-income instruments amid a global environment of rising interest rates.

Earlier this month, a report by Kuwait Financial Center, known as Markaz, revealed that Saudi Arabia led the Gulf Cooperation Council region in primary debt issuances in the first quarter of the year. The Kingdom raised $31.01 billion from 41 offerings, accounting for 60.2 percent of all issuances across the GCC during that period.

In a separate development, global credit rating agency S&P Global said Saudi Arabia’s expanding non-oil sector and healthy sukuk issuance levels could contribute significantly to the growth of the global Islamic finance industry.

The agency projected global sukuk issuance could reach between $190 billion and $200 billion in 2025, with foreign currency-denominated issuances contributing up to $80 billion, provided market volatility remains contained.

A report published in December by Kamco Invest further projected that Saudi Arabia would account for the largest share of bond maturities in the GCC from 2025 to 2029, with a total of $168 billion expected to mature during that period.