Oil prices ticked lower on Friday in London, with Brent crude futures for March slipping 17 cents to $76.70 a barrel by 1041 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) also dropped, down 11 cents at $72.62. Both benchmarks are heading for weekly declines of 2.3% and 2.8%, respectively.
Amid concerns over the potential repercussions of U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, oil faced downward pressure. Analyst Tamas Varga from PVM highlighted that the tariffs could lead to a negative economic impact and strengthen the dollar, affecting oil prices.
President Trump's threat of a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican exports unless they halt fentanyl shipments across U.S. borders has raised uncertainty in the market, particularly since both countries are major crude oil exporters to the U.S.
Regarding the upcoming OPEC+ meeting, Kazakhstan's energy minister hinted that discussions will include Trump's call for increased U.S. oil production, with PVM's Varga predicting OPEC's likely compliance to avoid confrontation with the U.S. through a gradual unwinding of production cuts.