Despite a slight rebound, in the wake of information on possible commercial negotiations between China and the United States, oil prices were in the process of ending a new week of decline yesterday, the highest weekly fall in a month.
Brut oil prices rebounded early in the day, following information that China has expressed its intention to negotiate with the Trump administration on customs duties, the Chinese trade ministry having indicated that it was studying a Washington proposal aimed at discussing these rights, but overall Brent’s prices fell 7% over the week, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) The fence.
Tower contracts on crude Brent increased to 62.22 a barrel and the term contracts on the American crude WTI at 59.30 dollars per barrel, at the beginning of the morning, before falling respectively under 62 dollars a barrel for Brent and under 69 dollars per barrel for WTI.
The fears that a wider trade war can push the world economy to a recession and slow down the demand for oil, at the very moment when the OPEC+ group is preparing to increase its production, have heavily weighed on oil prices in recent weeks. The oil prices were however supported this week, according to Reuters, by Trump’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on Iranian oil buyers.
-China is the world’s leading importer in Iranian crude. Trump’s words follow the postponement of negotiations between the United States and Iran on its nuclear program. The American president had previously revived a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, aimed in particular to reduce the country’s oil exports to zero in order to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Oil prices increased at the end of Thursday to establish itself at almost 2% more, following Trump’s remarks, erasing part of the losses recorded earlier in the week due to the expectations of an increased OPEC+ offer arriving on the market.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had informed its allies and experts in the sector that it was not willing to support oil prices with new supply reductions.
OPEC+ had decided, during its last meeting, to put 411,000 barrels on the market per day in May, instead of the 138,000 barrels initially planned, which contributed to lower prices earlier this month. Eight OPEC+countries, including Algeria, will meet on May 5 to decide a production plan for June. Zhor Hadjam
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