Oil Prices Hold Ground As Markets Weigh Trump Tariffs, Russia Sanctions Risks

Oil prices remained largely unchanged in choppy early trading on Friday as traders sought clues regarding the impact of Trump's tariffs on the global economy, amid concerns over Russia sanctions.

The upward move followed a 1% decline in the previous session as Trump unveiled his latest slate of tariffs, which ranged between 10% and 41%.

Benchmark Brent crude prices rose 0.1% to $71.82 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices gained 0.1%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about the United States Oil Fund was in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

Oil prices have remained under pressure this year amid a rise in OPEC+ supply as well as economic uncertainty driven by Trump tariffs. The International Energy Agency expects oil supplies to outstrip demand by the end of the year.

According to a Reuters News report, Suvro Sarkar, the energy sector team lead at DBS bank, noted that, barring a few exceptions, markets have been satisfied with the trade deals the U.S. has struck so far. “Further progress on trade talks with China in the future could be a further confidence booster for the oil market,” he reportedly said.

Earlier this week, Trump brought forward a deadline for Russia to take meaningful actions to end its war in Ukraine to avoid tariffs. He has pledged to impose 100% levies on buyers of Russian oil, which includes India and Russia, two of the biggest crude importers.

According to the report, JPMorgan analysts stated in a note on Thursday that the threats from the Trump administration to buyers of Russian oil put 2.8 million barrels per day worth of seaborne oil at risk.

"The Trump administration, like its predecessors, will likely find sanctioning the world's second-largest oil exporter unfeasible without spiking oil prices," the analysts reportedly said, in a reference to Russia.

Also See: AEP, ETR: 2 Under-The-Radar Utility Stocks Have Soared On AI Energy Boom — Are Retail Traders Taking Notice?

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.