Oil decline deepens amid concerns about global recession

Oil fell more than 3% on Monday, Reuters reports. Escalating trade tensions between the US and China added to fears of a global recession that could reduce demand for crude. 

China imposed additional levies on American goods as retaliation to Donald Trump’s tariffs. Imports of gas, oil, and refined products were granted exemptions from the US President's new duties. However, his policies could stoke the country’s inflation and slow its economic growth, as well as intensify trade disputes. These, in turn, would weigh on oil prices, Reuters says. 

Over the past week, Brent dropped 10.9%, while WTI lost 10.6%, the news agency reports. Satoru Yoshida, an analyst at Rakuten Securities, believes the main driver for this decline is concern that tariffs could result in a weaker global economy. The planned increase in OPEC+ production is also putting pressure on the prices, the expert adds. Yoshida expects WTI to fall to $55 or even $50 if US stock market decline persists.