Oil prices rise amid potential US auto tariff exemptions and rising Chinese oil imports

Oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday, boosted by new duty exemptions announced by US President Donald Trump and the resumption of oil imports by China in anticipation of a reduction in supply from Iran, UNN writes, citing Reuters.

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Brent crude futures rose 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $65 a barrel by 03:50 GMT (6:50 Kyiv time), while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.66.

"Trump has granted tariff exemptions on electronics and signaled tariff exemptions on automobiles, both of which are seen as a rollback of previously announced import tariffs, thus providing some relief to risky assets, including oil," said independent market analyst Tina Teng.

"However, the rally in growth-impacting stocks and commodities is met with skepticism, as his policies are unpredictable," she noted.

In the latest development in Trump's trade war, he said he was considering changing the 25% tariffs imposed on imports of foreign cars and auto parts from Mexico, Canada and other countries.

The unstable US trade policy has created uncertainty in global oil markets and pushed OPEC on Monday to lower its demand forecast for the first time since December.

The Trump administration announced on Friday that it would grant tariff exemptions for smartphones, computers and some other electronic goods, most of which are imported from China. This led to a slight increase in both oil benchmarks in price on Monday.

Oil prices rose amid US tariff exemptions and China's import recovery14.04.25, 12:19 • 4177 views

On Sunday, Trump said he would announce a tariff rate on imported semiconductors next week, and a filing with the Federal Register on Monday showed that the administration began an investigation into semiconductor imports on April 1.

"The market is digesting rapidly changing political developments on the tariff front, while balancing them with nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran," ING analysts said in their note on Tuesday.

"Clearly, the market is more focused on tariffs and their impact on oil demand," the note said.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that the United States could stop Iranian oil exports as part of Trump's plan to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program.

Also supporting prices were data on Monday that showed China's crude oil imports in March rose nearly 5% compared to last year, as Iranian oil supplies soared in anticipation of tougher US sanctions.

On Monday, Kazakhstan said its oil production in the first two weeks of April fell 3% compared to the average for March, confirming a Reuters report, although production is still above the OPEC+ quota.