U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled 25 cents lower at $53.25 per barrel, slipping half a percent to the weakest closing price since Feb. 12. Earlier in the session, WTI hit a session high of $54.63 per barrel.
Concerns that a U.S.-China trade war, and threats of tariffs on Mexico from the United States, would diminish global crude demand, however, weighed on oil prices.
“Focus has shifted from the supply to the demand side as a U.S.-China trade agreement has proven elusive and as worries over the debilitating effects of tariffs on global economic growth have now shifted to Mexico,” Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note. – read more
Most of the movement for oil has been based on “economic concerns of weakened growth because of the potential impact of [the] trade situation,” said James Williams, energy economist at WTRG Economics. U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods have added to the concerns about China, he said. – marketwatch.com