For the fourth consecutive session, crude prices continued to decline in mid-European trading on Tuesday, August 5, as market concerns about slowing global growth and weak global oil demand, coupled with OPEC’s move to ease supply restrictions, awaited preliminary inventory figures from the American Petroleum Institute later today. Nymex crude fell by about 1.28% to trade at $65.44 a barrel, while Brent crude traded at $67.98 a barrel, down about 1.10%.
Trump’s statements negatively impacted crude prices after he indicated he would significantly raise tariffs on Indian exports due to its purchases of Russian oil, a new threat to impose sanctions on Russia and urging it to agree to a truce with Ukraine. This heightened market concerns about a further slowdown in the global economy in the second half of this year, threatening energy demand.