Oil prices down on reports Washington intends to reduce fuel costs

• Brent crude falls 3.5% to $110.69 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate drops 3.7%.
• Asia-Pacific equities decline as Wall Street plays catch-up after Juneteenth holiday.
• Japan’s Nikkei falls 0.8%, South Korea’s Kospi falls 2.1%, China’s CSI 300 slides 0.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falls 1.3%.

On Wednesday, oil prices declined in response to reports that the U.S. government was preparing measures to reduce fuel prices, while Asia-Pacific equities declined despite a Wall Street rally.

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Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 3.5% to $110.69 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, fell 3.7% to $105.48 per barrel.

Joe Biden, president of the United States, stated on Monday that he was considering suspending the federal gasoline tax; Bloomberg and Reuters reported that he would make the request on Wednesday. Thursday will find Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm meeting with refiners.

Despite gains for US equities on Tuesday, Asia-Pacific equities declined on Wednesday as Wall Street markets played catch-up following the Juneteenth holiday oil prices on Monday.

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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by as much as 1.3%, China’s CSI 300 fell by 0.7%, and South Korea’s Kospi fell by 2.1%. Following earlier gains of up to 0.8%, the Topix was essentially unchanged.

Tuesday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 2.4% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.5%.