Oil held losses after the biggest decline in almost two months as fears of a trade war prompted investors to flee commodities and other risky assets.
Futures in New York were little changed after a 3 percent drop on Monday. China imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods valued at about $3 billion, the latest move in an escalating trade dispute between the world’s largest economies. Meanwhile, American crude inventories are forecast to rise for the fifth time in six weeks, according to a Bloomberg survey before the Energy Information Administration’s data Wednesday.
Oil has been struggling to rise to above the highs of January as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ effort to drain a global glut has been undercut by surging U.S. production. Investors also worry President Donald Trump’s protectionist policy will lead to further reciprocal tariffs by China, undermining global economic growth.
“The escalating dispute between the U.S. and China over trade is driving oil prices down at the moment and it’s probably an issue that’s hard to resolve in the short term,” Will Yun, a commodities analyst at Hyundai Futures Corp., said by phone. “Along with the on-going trade war, we have rising U.S. crude stockpiles and production, which will always put downward pressure on prices.”
West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was at $63.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 19 cents, at 10:19 a.m. in Tokyo. The contract fell $1.93 to $63.01 on Monday, the most since Feb. 9. Total volume traded was about 48 percent below the 100-day average.
Brent for June settlement added 20 cents to $67.84 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after losing 2.5 percent on Monday. The global benchmark traded at a $4.67 premium to June WTI.
