Citi Research lowered its Brent crude price forecast for the next three months to $60 per barrel. The change in the outlook was driven by Donald Trump's new tariffs.
Last week, the US President announced a 10% levy on all goods imported into the country. Additionally, higher duties will be imposed on certain countries, including US trade partners. Following this, China said it would proceed with retaliatory tariffs of 34% on all American goods on April 10. Amid escalating global trade tensions, oil prices fell by almost 4% earlier this week, Reuters says.
According to Citi’s forecast, pre-buying and stockpiling of commodities will come to a complete halt as markets have tightened over the past few months. The experts believe information about trade deals between the US and other countries, as well as delays to the imposition of the new duties, may result in rallies in commodity markets.