(Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Friday and were set to drop for a second week on concerns prolonged trade war between the United States and China, the world’s largest economies, will crush crude consumption as their dispute curtails economic growth.
Brent futures fell 31 cents, 0.5%, to $63.02 a barrel by 0153 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 36 cents, or 0.6%, to $59.71. Both benchmarks settled over $2 lower on Thursday.
Brent is set to fall 4% this week, adding to an 11% drop in the prior week, while WTI is set to decline 3.8%, after also falling 11% in the previous week.
A prolonged trade dispute between the U.S. and China is likely to reduce global trade volumes and disrupt trade routes, and eventually weigh on global economic growth. As the world’s two largest oil consumers, that will also impact crude consumption.
Oil prices have come “under pressure amid ongoing concerns about a global economic slowdown,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said in a note on Friday. He added the bank forecasts that if global economic growth falls below 3%, oil consumption will decline by 1%.
The trade war between the two economic superpowers has ratcheted up after U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs against China to 145% on Thursday, even after announcing a pause on heavy tariffs against dozens of trading partners on Wednesday. China, in turn, has announced an additional import levy on U.S. goods, raising their tariffs to 84% on U.S. goods.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Thursday lowered its global economic growth forecasts and warned that tariffs could weigh heavily on oil prices, as it slashed its U.S. and global oil demand forecasts for this year and next.
(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
