Today we observed a slight decrease in oil prices. This time it comes as a result of another round of upcoming tariffs that US President Donald Trump threatened to impose on Chinese goods in the amount of $200 billion. Investors fear that any further pressure on the Chinese economy will cause a slowdown in economic output, which would be accompanied by a lesser demand for oil.
On the other hand, oil is not expected to decrease too much, since the sanctions against Iran are coming into effect. If Iran cannot export as much oil as usual, then the drop in supply will match the decrease in demand from China, and the market will balance out again.
As of earlier today the WTI crude was trading around $68.59, while the Brent crude was at $77.23.
If OPEC continues to increase oil production and tries to fill in any supply gaps left by Iran, then the price of oil will decrease again.
