WTI tumbles to near $64.50 amid Russia-Ukraine supply concerns

• WTI price tumbles to near $64.60 in Tuesday’s early European session. 

• Oil traders will closely monitor further developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

• Prospects of a Fed rate cut next month might underpin the WTI price.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $64.60 during the early Asian trading hours on Tuesday. The WTI edges lower as traders assess the prospects of additional US tariffs on Russia. Oil traders brace for the American Petroleum Institute (API) weekly crude oil stock report, which is due later on Tuesday. 

Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russia if no progress is made in peace talks with Ukraine within two weeks. Uncertainty about stalled peace negotiations, along with Trump's threat of more sanctions on Russia and higher tariffs on Indian imports, exacerbates supply fears and weighs on the WTI price. 

Nonetheless, rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine could lift the black gold. Earlier this week, the WTI price received support from concerns about supply disruptions following Ukraine’s strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. Russian officials said that Ukraine carried out a drone attack on Russia on Sunday, causing a significant fall in reactor capacity at one of the country's largest nuclear power facilities and a massive fire at the Ust-Luga fuel export terminal.

Additionally, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell on Friday signaled a possible interest rate cut at the September meeting,  saying that risks to the job market were rising but also noting inflation remained a threat and that a decision wasn't set in stone. A dovish tone from the Fed officials might weigh on the US Dollar (USD) and underpin the USD-denominated commodity price.