How are energy investors positioned?
Investing.com -- Oil prices slipped lower U.S. President Donald Trump outlined tariffs against a slew of countries, ramping up concerns over their potential impact on oil demand.
At 08:05 ET (12:05 GMT), Brent oil futures for October fell 0.7% to $71.21 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 0.6% to $68.85 a barrel.
But crude prices were still set for gains of over 5% this week, having benefited from threats of even stricter U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.
Trump tariff jitters, weak China data limit oil gains
Trump signed an order on Thursday outlining tariffs against a slew of major U.S. trading partners, with the duties ranging from 10% to 50%.
While Washington did reach trade deals with some countries, including the UK, Japan, and South Korea, it was seen proposing steep tariffs on other trading partners, including a 35% levy on Canada.
Trump’s tariffs--which will now take effect in seven days--pushed up concerns that economic disruptions stemming from the duties could hurt global demand for oil.
Oil was also pressured by strength in the dollar, which rose sharply this week after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady and flagged no intent to cut rates in the near-term.
Weak purchasing managers index data from top oil importer China also weighed, as it highlighted sluggish manufacturing activity in the country.
Oil heads for weekly gain
Still, the benchmark contracts were seen posting strong weekly gains having surged in the first half of the week as the U.S. threatened tighter sanctions against Russia.
Washington threatened to impose tariffs as high as 100% on the biggest buyers of Russian oil, China and India, while also slapping the latter with a 25% tariff over its ties with Moscow.
China’s and India’s cessation of Russian oil purchases could significantly limit global supplies, given that the two are also among the world’s biggest oil importers.
Ambar Warrick contributed to this article