Oil prices edged down on Wednesday after rising to two-week highs in the previous session, as investors awaited new developments on US tariffs amid expectations of rising crude inventories in the United States.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 slipped 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $70.08 a barrel by 0400 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 fell 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $68.25 a barrel.
US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff delay provided some hope to major trade partners Japan, South Korea and the European Union that deals to ease duties could still be reached, while bewildering some smaller exporters such as South Africa and leaving companies with no clarity on the path forward.
Trump pushed back Wednesday’s previous deadline to August 1, a date he said on Tuesday was final, declaring: “No extensions will be granted.”
Trump added that he would impose a 50 percent tariff on imported copper and soon introduce long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, broadening a trade war that has rattled markets worldwide.
“Investors are constantly dealing with ‘tariffs headlines’ and the potential fallout from their adverse impact on global trade,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
“… Given the backdrop of uncertainty and potential sombre economic growth going forward, it’s surprising how the energy complex can still surge with seemingly unending ‘bearish headlines’ mounting pressures persistently,” she added.
