Oil prices fall 8% as China retaliates against US tariffs.
China has announced it will impose additional tariffs of 34% on all US products starting April 10.
Reuters Oil prices plunged as much as 8% on Friday, heading for their lowest close since the mid-coronavirus pandemic in 2021, as China retaliated in the escalating global trade war with the US following a series of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump this week.
China has announced it will impose additional tariffs of 34% on all US products starting April 10. Countries around the world are preparing retaliation after Trump raised tariff barriers to the highest level in over a century, leading to a fall in global financial markets.
Brent crude futures were down $4,75, or 6,77%, to $65,39 a barrel around 9:40 AM (Brasilia time). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $4,91, or 7,33%, to $62,04.
Both benchmarks were on track for their biggest weekly losses in percentage terms in more than two years.
"China's aggressive response to US tariffs practically confirms that we are heading towards a global trade war; a war that has no winners and that will harm economic growth and demand for important commodities such as crude oil and refined products," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
Also fueling the oil sell-off was the decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, to bring forward plans to increase production, with the group now aiming to return 411.000 barrels per day (bpd) to the market in May, up from the previously planned 135.000 bpd.
Imports of oil, gas, and refined products were exempted from the new, sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump. But these measures could fuel inflation, slow economic growth, and intensify trade disputes, weighing on oil prices.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs have made sharp cuts to their December 2025 forecasts for Brent and WTI crude oil prices, reducing them by $5 each to $66 and $62, respectively.
