West Texas Intermediate futures slid almost 1% to settle below $70 a barrel and wrapped up the month 3.8% lower. Trump affirmed the March 4 start of levies on imports from Canada and Mexico, which are the biggest suppliers of foreign oil to the US. He also threatened to double an existing tariff on imports from China, and Mexico is offering to follow suit in an attempt to stave off US levies. Beijing vowed countermeasures.
West Texas Intermediate futures spiked as much as 1.5% from their settlement price after Trump made the comments to reporters at the White House. The gain just as quickly evaporated after he said he will decide later tonight on whether to include oil in the tariffs. WTI traded at $73.06 a barrel at 4:10 p.m. in New York.
This week, oil has been trending higher already on signs of a tighter market and an American Petroleum Institute inventory report that saw crude oil stocks shedding a sizable 4 million barrels in the first week of January. The API also estimated another round of hefty inventory builds in fuels.
Gasoline inventories rose this week by 1.814 million barrels compared to last week’s 2.48-million-barrel decrease. As of last week, gasoline inventories are 4% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data.