Oil prices remain stable: investors assess the impact of Trump’s tariffs
By ForGeeks World oil prices were little changed Wednesday as investors analyze the possible impact of the 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. At the same time, the market had little reaction to rising U.S. oil inventories.
Oil prices have stabilized after falling
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As of 01:32 GMT, Brent crude futures were down $0.02, to $77.47 per barrel, while US WTI crude was up $0.04 (0.1%) to $73.81 per barrel.
Oil quotes hit multi-week lows earlier this week amid excitement surrounding Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. Its low-cost model has raised concerns about the energy demand needed to run data centers. Additional pressure came from weak Chinese economic data, which worsened forecasts for oil consumption.
Trump’s tariff policy is creating uncertainty for the oil market
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The White House confirmed Tuesday that Trump plans to impose 25 percent duties on imports from Canada and Mexico, and is also considering new tariffs on China.
The White House also confirmed that Trump is planning to impose 25 percent duties on imports from Canada and Mexico, and is considering new tariffs on China.
Although the tariffs were previously expected to take effect on Monday, their imposition has been delayed. Nevertheless, Trump has said he may impose them starting Feb. 1, attributing the move to problems with illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling.
It remains unclear how this will affect U.S. oil supplies. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Canada supplied the U.S. with 3.9 million barrels of oil per day (nearly half of all imports) in 2023, while Mexico supplied 733,000 bpd.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. will be supplied with 3.9 million barrels of oil per day (nearly half of all imports) in 2023.
“Investors are trying to gauge the impact of Trump’s tariff policy. If duties are imposed, it could cause short-term disruptions in the U.S. energy market and then lead to lower demand due to rising prices and falling consumption,” said Yuki Takashima, an economist at Nomura Securities.
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He added that some traders were adjusting their positions after the volatility in the stock market caused by the “DeepSeek-shock” effect.
He added that some traders were adjusting their positions after the volatility in the stock market caused by the “DeepSeek-shock” effect.
Oil market ignores US inventory data
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Oil quotes barely reacted to weekly data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showing that U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories rose and distillate inventories fell.
Official EIA data is due to be released on Wednesday at 15:30 GMT.
OPEC+ is monitoring the situation in the Middle East and preparing for talks
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Fears of disruptions to Libya’s oil supply eased after state-run National Oil Corp said export activity was continuing as normal after talks with protesters.
OpEC+ is monitoring the situation in the Middle East and preparing for talks with protesters.
In the meantime, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister and his OPEC+ counterparts held consultations ahead of the cartel’s upcoming meeting next week. The discussions centered on Trump’s statement on the need to bring down oil prices.
