The price of barrel of oil came to lower more than 7%this Friday, both in its variety Brent and West Texas Intermediate, expanding the collapse of the latest sessions after the announcement of reciprocal tariffs by the United States and the response of China, announced today, which has accelerated the decrease in the cost of crude oil to minimum levels of 2021.
In the case of the Brent, the price of the barrel of reference oil for Europe came to fall this Friday to $ 64.78, 7.6% below yesterday’s closure and its lowest cost since May 2021, which extends to more than 13% the accumulated setback in just four sessions of the month of April.
On its side, the price of WTI crude barrel, reference for the United States, came down this Friday to $ 62.09, more than 7% less than at the end of yesterday, thus marking its lowest price since the summer of 2021.
OPEC+ moves to accelerate the end of restrictions
In addition to the impact of the commercial war on the projections of growth and consumption of crude, the price of oil has also been pressed by the unexpected announcement on Thursday of the OPEC+, the producer poster led by Saudi and Russia Arabia, to accelerate the lifting of its restrictions and pump from May the triple of the amount initially planned.
In a statement published after the virtual meeting held yesterday, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman, have announced that, in view of the continuous strength of the market foundations and positive perspectives, they will implement a production adjustment of 411,000 barrels per day, equivalent to three monthly increases, in May of 2025.
“Petroleum prices have suffered strong falls because the market fights with a possible impact on demand due to tariffs and an unexpected increase in supply by OPEC+,” warns Warren Patterson, head of Ing Research’s raw material strategy.
“It is no secret that Trump wants lower oil prices”
The expert recalls that the US president is adopting a more restrictive position towards Iran and Venezuela, with stricter sanctions, including the announcement of secondary tariffs for Venezuelan oil buyers and the threat of similar measures for Iranian oil buyers and, potentially, Russian.
“It is no secret that Trump wants lower oil prices and has pressed to the Saudi to increase the offer. This recent measure could indicate that Trump has been more successful than many anticipated by persuading the Saudis to increase the offer,” he adds.
Last January, with the price of crude oil above $ 75 per barrel, in its speech at the World Economic Forum, held in Davos (Switzerland), Donald Trump, expressed his desire that Saudi Arabia and the OPEC already act to reduce the price of oil and thus facilitate the Federal Reserve the possibility of continuing to lower interest rates.
