Oil prices drop as China hits back at US with new tariffs
Oil prices extended their decline after China imposed tariffs on several U.S. exports, including crude oil.
West Texas Intermediate fell as much as 1.9% to below $72 a barrel, while Brent was near $75, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
China imposed its own tariffs on some goods imported from the US, setting the stage for a fresh trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
That came after the passing of a deadline that imposed a 10% US tariff on all Chinese goods. Trump had earlier pushed back planned levies on Canada and Mexico by a month after the nations agreed to take tougher measures to combat migration and drug trafficking.
Futures have faced a bumpy start to the year, first rising on a cold winter and US sanctions on Russian energy flows, before paring those gains after Trump took office and threatened blanket tariffs that could hamper global growth. Demand concerns remain pertinent, with top crude importer China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly declining for a second month in January.
Elsewhere, OPEC and its allies didn’t make any changes to existing oil-production plans at a review meeting on Monday, even as the US president called on the group to lower crude prices by expanding output. OPEC+ is set to maintain production curbs this quarter, then gradually increase output in monthly tranches from April.
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