Oil Drops as Trade War Fears Compete with Pressure on Iran
Oil prices steadied after falling on concerns that the U.S.-China trade war would hurt global growth, offset by President Donald Trump’s increasing economic pressure on Iran.
West Texas Intermediate crude was trading below $73 a barrel after a rocky start to the week as markets were rattled by tariff announcements and subsequent delays. Brent crude settled above $76. Trump has sought to use sanctions and tougher enforcement of existing measures to increase pressure on Tehran
On Tuesday, Beijing issued a swift but calculated retaliation to Trump’s levies, which so far appear to be contained. The trade war between the world’s two largest economies is unlikely to shake U.S. crude exports, as flows to China have fallen to less than 5% of total American shipments. Elsewhere, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. national commercial crude inventories rose by 5 million barrels last week, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. If confirmed by official data on Wednesday, it would be the second straight rise from the lowest level since March 2022.
Source: Bloomberg
