Oil rises on supply worries, Trump tariffs hold back growth
Kyiv • UNN
Brent and WTI oil prices rose by 1.3% due to restrictions on Russian and Iranian oil supplies. New US duties on steel and aluminum could slow global economic growth and oil demand.
Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday amid concerns over Russian and Iranian oil supplies and threats of sanctions, despite fears that higher trade duties could slow global economic growth, Reuters reports, UNN writes.
Details
Brent crude futures rose 98 cents, or 1.3%, to $76.85 per barrel at 10:11 GMT (12:11 Kyiv time), while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 92 cents, or 1.3%, to $73.24.
Both brands showed an increase in price of almost 2% in the previous session after three consecutive weeks of losses.
"With the US putting pressure on Iranian exports and sanctions still biting into Russian supplies, Asian crude grades remain resilient and have maintained the rally from yesterday," said PVM oil analyst John Evans.
The supply of Russian oil to China and India, the world's largest crude oil importers, was severely disrupted by last month's US sanctions targeting tankers, producers, and insurers.
Adding to supply concerns were US sanctions against networks that supply Iranian oil to China, after President Donald Trump renewed his "maximum pressure" on Iranian oil exports last week.
But the price increase was counteracted by Trump's latest tariffs, which could weaken global growth and energy demand, the publication writes.
On Monday, Trump significantly increased duties on steel and aluminum imports to the US to 25% "without exemptions or waivers" to help struggling industries, which, as noted, could increase the risk of a multi-front trade war.
The duties will hit millions of tons of steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and other countries.
"Tariffs and retaliatory duties could put pressure on the oil-intensive part of the global economy, particularly by creating uncertainty about demand," Morgan Stanley said in a note on Monday.
"However, we believe that this backdrop is also likely to force OPEC+ to extend current production quotas again, which will solve the problem of a balanced market in [the second half of 2025]," the bank added.
Last week, Trump imposed 10% additional tariffs on China, to which Beijing responded with its own levies on US imports, including a 10% duty on crude oil.
In addition, given the demand for crude oil, the US Federal Reserve will wait until the next quarter before cutting rates again, according to most economists polled by Reuters, who had previously expected a cut in March.
The Fed faces the threat of rising inflation due to Trump's policies. Keeping rates at a higher level may limit economic growth, which will affect the growth of oil demand, the publication writes.
U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories are expected to show an increase last week, while distillate stockpiles are likely to decline, a Reuters preliminary survey showed on Monday.
