Oil Heads for Weekly Gain as Traders Focus on Russia, US Tariffs
Oil is on track for the biggest weekly gain since mid-June after President Donald Trump ramped up pressure on Russia, as the market braced for the fallout from US tariffs that take effect on Friday.
West Texas Intermediate was steady above $69 a barrel, up more than 6% for the week, the largest weekly move since Israel attacked Iran. Brent settled below $72 on Thursday. Trump has threatened economic penalties on Moscow if a swift truce on the war in Ukraine isn’t reached, and singled out India for higher levies, in part due to its buying of Russian crude and weapons.
For now, financial markets will be fixated on Trump’s tariffs and any retaliatory measures from targeted trading partners. He has signed an executive order that increases the rate on Canada to 35% from 25%, but will keep a minimum global tariff of 10%. The president recently said India would face a 25% duty.
India has told its refiners to come up with plans for buying non-Russian crude after Trump took aim at the country. The South Asian nation has ramped up its buying of oil from the OPEC+ producer since the war in Ukraine, with more than a third of its overall purchases from Russia this year.
Source: Bloomberg
