Oil prices fall as investors assess US court ruling on Trump tariffs
Oil prices fell over 1% on Thursday, retreating from earlier gains, as investors weighed the potential effects of a U.S. court ruling that blocked the most sweeping of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
The market also watched for potential new U.S. sanctions curbing Russian crude flows and an OPEC+ decision on hiking output in July.
Brent crude futures settled down 75 cents, or 1.2%, to $64.15 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 90 cents, or 1.5%, to $60.94 a barrel.
Prices had earlier risen after a U.S. court on Wednesday ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners. The court was not asked to address some industry-specific tariffs Trump has issued on automobiles, steel and aluminium using a different statute.
Futures steadily retreated throughout the session, however, as senior Trump administration officials downplayed the impact of the ruling and insisted there are other legal avenues to employ.
Weighing on oil futures on Thursday, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in an interview with Bloomberg that demand for oil was considerably weak in China and developments in Russia and Iran were "question marks" for oil prices.
The U.S. and Iran are holding talks meant to rein in Iranian nuclear activities that have rapidly accelerated since Trump pulled Washington out of a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that strictly limited those activities.
Source : Reuters
