Oil prices fall on concerns about tariffs and fuel demand

Oil prices fall slightly on Wednesday morning on concerns about US tariffs and the effect on economic growth and energy demand, reports Reuters reports.

Global oil demand is expected to grow at its slowest rate in five years by 2025 and US production increases will also slow due to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on trading partners.

“Investors continue to struggle to find a catalyst to drive a more meaningful recovery as global growth is expected to slow in line with US tariffs, jeopardizing oil demand,” says Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.

“The downward trend for oil prices remains intact and we can expect the initial optimism around the tariff settlement to dissipate and the underlying macro headwinds in the upcoming economic data could bring markets back to a more sobering reality,” he adds.

The market’s eyes remain on Trump’s volatile tariff measures combined with rising production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, which has already dragged oil prices down by around 13% in April.

A barrel of European reference oil Brent costs USD 64.51 Wednesday morning CEST compared to USD 64.70 Tuesday afternoon. US WTI oil trade at the same times for USD 61.15 against USD 61.37.

Elsewhere in commodities markets, a troy ounce of gold costs USD 3286.63 Wednesday morning, compared to USD 3222.71 Tuesday afternoon.

English edit by Daniel Frank Christensen