Oil prices set for third straight weekly decline amid concerns over U.S. tariffs, inventories
Oil futures rose on Friday from 2025 lows, but were on track for a third straight weekly decline amid rising U.S. inventories and concerns that higher U.S. tariffs on China would hurt growth and demand for crude.
Price movement
West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery CL00 CL.1 CLH25 rose 52 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $71.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but was headed for a weekly decline of 1.9%.
--Brent crude for April delivery BRN00 BRNJ25, the global benchmark, rose 55 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $74.84 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, on track for a weekly decline of 1.1%. Market movers
The U.S. benchmark WTI fell near $70 a barrel on Thursday, finding “strong dip buying” interest this morning, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said in a note. Both WTI and Brent ended Thursday at their lowest levels since Dec. 27.
Concerns over Trump’s trade policies after the imposition of an additional 10% tariff on China this week and uncertainty over further tariff moves threaten to “damage the global growth outlook and will likely support a deeper decline in crude prices,” she wrote, with a drop toward the $65 to $68 range now looking plausible.
Oil came under pressure early in the week after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that commercial crude inventories rose for a second straight week, rising by 8.7 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 31.
-William Watts
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Source: ow Jones Newswires
