On March 31, global oil prices fell despite US President Donald Trump’s warning about the possible introduction of new tariffs on Russian oil importers. About this informs Reuters.
June Brent crude futures were down 30 cents, or 0.4%, at $72.46 a barrel as of 03:30 GMT. American WTI fell by 33 cents (0.5%) to $69.03 per barrel.
Brent futures for delivery next month were also down 26 cents, or 0.4%, at $73.36, with those contracts set to expire later on Monday. Both key indicators show the first quarterly decline in the last six months.
We will remind that on March 30, Donald Trump said that he is “angry” with Vladimir Putin and may introduce additional tariffs of 25-50% for buyers of Russian oil if he sees obstacles to his initiatives from Moscow. According to him, new trade measures may be introduced within the next month. In the same statement, Trump threatened Iran with airstrikes and additional tariffs if no agreement was reached on its nuclear program.
“There are a couple of ways to read the headlines and the selloff. The first is that the market isn’t buying Trump’s threats and doesn’t believe them. The second is that Trump’s threats, if implemented, will be another step toward a trade war that will affect global growth and demand for crude oil.” IG analyst Tony Sycamore noted.
Meanwhile, OPEC+ countries — including OPEC and allies led by Russia — are preparing to begin planned monthly output increases in April. The group is also expected to continue building volumes in May.
“We expect WTI to remain in the $65-$75 range for the time being as the market assesses the impact of Trump’s tariffs on oil supplies and the global economy, as well as the supply situation from the US and OPEC+,” Yuki Takashima, an economist at Nomura Securities, explained.
Iran, in turn, also cut the price of its light crude oil to Asian buyers to $3.95 a barrel above the April average for crude from Oman and Dubai.
