Oil drilling rigs
Oil prices extended their losses on Friday, falling by more than 6% following China’s retaliatory measures in response to the sweeping tariffs announced by President Trump earlier this week.
China announced its intention to impose a 34% tariff on all imports from the United States starting April 10.
Brent crude futures for June delivery dropped by 6.22%, or $4.36, to $65.78 per barrel as of 1:37 p.m. Mecca time.
Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery fell by 6.5%, or $4.37, to $62.58 per barrel.
President Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on all countries, with a minimum rate of 10%, under the pretext of restoring US economic independence and stopping exploitation by other nations. This move sparked fears of a global economic slowdown, rising inflation, and disruption of central banks’ efforts to ease borrowing costs.
As a result, Goldman Sachs, citing these concerns alongside the risk of abundant supply from the OPEC+ alliance, lowered its forecast for Brent crude to $69 per barrel and US crude to $66 per barrel for this year.
https://www.argaam.com/en/article/articledetail/id/1802431
