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Crude prices retreated after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed selling around 50 percent of the nation's emergency oil reserves, even as producer cartel OPEC and its ally exporters reduce output to rebalance the market and drive up prices.
Brent crude futures trimmed 43 cents or 0.8 percent, and traded down at $53.44 per barrel. Meanwhile, U.S. WTI futures traded at $50.71 per barrel, edging down by 42 cents or 0.8 percent from their last close.
The Trump administration's budget plan is looking to sell off half of the country's crude stockpile beginning 2018 until 2027 in order to secure around $16.5 billion funding from October 2018, according to documents released. It also called for more production in Alaska. The federal budget is only a drafted proposal and may not be finalized in its current form. However, it shows the administration's policy hopes, which includes stepping up the country's crude exports.
The budget plan was released a day after Trump left OPEC's de-facto leader, Saudi Arabia during his first international state-visit.
The sale of strategic reserves would rattle crude markets and further erode the impact of efforts by OPEC and other producers that have pledged to lower output at an agreed-upon level to help the market deal with a supply glut.
