Oil prices slide on Trump jitters, weak China data By Investing.com
Investing.com – Oil prices fell sharply in Asian trade after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his demand for OPEC to cut crude oil prices, while tariffs on Colombia rattled markets.
Oil markets were weighed down by a weak Purchasing Managers’ Index with China’s high import data, indicating that domestic trade is under pressure.
Inflation has been showing steep losses since last week after Trump declared a national emergency and called for a sharp increase in US energy production, as well as calls for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut crude prices.
Crude oil for March settlement fell 1.2 percent to $77.59 a barrel, down 1.2 percent to $73.76 a barrel at 20:48 ET (01:48 GMT).
Trump has imposed tariffs on Colombia, calling for lower oil prices
After Bogota refused to allow two US military planes carrying migrants to land in the country, Trump imposed a 25% import tariff on all Colombian goods.
The move raised concerns that Trump’s plans to impose trade tariffs could hit other major economies, including Canada, Mexico and China.
The United States is Colombia’s largest export destination, particularly for petroleum, although crude exports account for only a fraction of total U.S. oil consumption.
The US president has again called on OPEC to lower oil prices, saying that falling oil prices would hurt Russia’s revenue stream and end the Russia-Ukraine war.
OPEC plans to begin increasing output slightly from April as it begins to ease output cuts imposed over the past two years. These restrictions provided only temporary support to prices.
Given the country’s strong buyer pool in Asia, it is expected to have some impact on Russia’s oil revenues, but the outgoing Biden administration imposed strict sanctions on Russia’s oil industry.
Weak China PMI literally weighs
Oil markets were also hit by weak PMI data from China, which unexpectedly contracted in January, with growth slowing sharply.
The reading showed that domestic businesses have received some support from Beijing’s recent stimulus measures and China needs to do more to boost growth.
The reading came days after Trump threatened to impose 10% tariffs on China, which could further strain its economy and reduce demand for crude.
China is the world’s largest oil importer, but it has been a major concern in the crude market, where economic growth has steadily slowed over the past three years.