While US President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff strategy has disrupted the oil market for months, his renewed attacks on trading partners this week have solidified consensus on at least one matter: The outlook for crude demand is set to worsen.
Investors in oil had largely overlooked trade news for weeks as the conflict in the Middle East commanded price action, but Trump’s recent barrage of tariff letters — containing some of the highest tax rates yet — is reviving concerns that a global trade war will reduce crude consumption.