Oil Prices Fall As Tariff Uncertainty Unsettles Investors
Oil prices fell on Monday as concerns about the impact of U.S. import tariffs on global economic growth and fuel demand, as well as rising output from OPEC+ producers, cooled investor appetite for riskier assets.
Brent crude was down 6 cents at $70.30 a barrel by 0720 GMT after closing up 90 cents on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.96 a barrel, down 8 cents after closing up 68 cents in the previous session.
WTI fell for a seventh straight week, its longest losing streak since November 2023, while Brent fell for a third straight week after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed later-delayed tariffs on its main oil suppliers, Canada and Mexico, while raising taxes on Chinese goods. China retaliated with tariffs on U.S. and Canadian agricultural products.
"Tariff uncertainty is the main driver behind the weakness," ING analysts said in a note, adding that Saudi Arabia's oil price cuts and deflationary signals from China were also hurting sentiment.
IG analyst Tony Sycamore said other factors weighing on oil prices included concerns about U.S. growth, the potential lifting of U.S. sanctions on Russia and OPEC+ opting to increase production.
"However, with much of the bad news likely already priced in, we expect weekly support around $65/$62 to hold firm before a recovery back to $72.00," he said in a client note referring to WTI prices.
Oil prices fell again on Friday after Trump said the U.S. would increase sanctions on Russia if it fails to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine.
The U.S. is also studying ways to ease sanctions on Russia's energy sector if Russia agrees to end its war with Ukraine, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, said they would resume increasing oil output from April.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that OPEC+ could reverse the decision if there was a market imbalance.
Adding to supply concerns, Saudi Arabia cut the price of crude it sells to Asia for the first time in three months in April.
Last week, Trump said he wanted to negotiate a deal with OPEC member Iran to prevent it from seeking nuclear weapons — though Iran says it does not seek such weapons.
Trump is pursuing a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, with the U.S. on Saturday canceling waivers that allowed Iraq to pay Iran for electricity, a State Department spokesman said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday his country would not be intimidated into negotiating.
Later in the week, investors will scrutinize monthly reports from the International Energy Agency and OPEC for forecasts on demand and supply.
Source: Investing.com
