On Monday, oil prices slid in the early trade and lost the gains from last week as the prospect of the resuming US-China trade war clouded the outlook of global economic recovery.
US WTI crude oil futures slumped by 7.6% or USD1.46 to reach the low of USD18.27/barrel at 00.08 GMT after rising by 17% last week. Brent crude flopped by 3.4% or 90 cents to USD25.54/barrel after gaining around 23% last week.
The US President Donald Trump caused a stir in the market with his comment threatening to consider increasing tariffs to China to retaliate for the spread of the coronavirus. The comment renewed concerns over trade tensions which could tackle the recovery in the global economy and put a cap on the gains in oil prices.
Analyst Stephen Innes of AxiCorp said that if the trade war resumes, the long-term oil prices could be detrimentally affected.
Previously in the week to May 1, the global oil market was supported by the upcoming OPEC+ oil production cut, followed by the supply curb plans by ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. of each 400,000 bpd in the second quarter.
Other than that, the easing of business restrictions in several US states and cities globally increased hopes to lessen the global fuel glut and the pressure on storage tanks.
