The oil price continues its downward path. Trump has managed to cause quite a stir worldwide since his inauguration and he is also not leaving the oil market untouched.
There is uncertainty about the tariffs that Trump wants to impose on Canada and Mexico as early as next Saturday. Shortly after taking office last week, Trump said that he wants to impose 1% import duties on both neighboring countries, which are also oil suppliers to the US, as of February 25. This week, the plans were confirmed by a White House spokesperson.
Trump calls on OPEC to cut prices
The OPEC+ countries are also concerned with the new president. They will meet next Monday. Kazakhstan reports to the Reuters news agency that the countries want to take a joint position on Trump's plans to increase US oil production. The American president has declared an energy emergency and wants new gas fields and oil wells to be drilled.
Trump also urged OPEC+ countries, led by Saudi Arabia, to lower oil prices last week during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to stop Russia's war with Ukraine. "If the price were to go down, the war between Russia and Ukraine would end immediately," Trump said. He implicitly holds oil-producing countries responsible for the continuation of the war: "They should have done it a long time ago. They are very responsible for it, actually." As is well known, OPEC has imposed production restrictions on itself to support the oil price. The first relaxations of these restrictions are not expected to come until April.
Also other news than about Trump
Besides Trump, there is also other news that the oil market is following with interest. In eastern Libya, the opposition, which is active there, blocked the shipment of oil. According to Reuters, oil exports from the ports have resumed.
The January 19 ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza remains in place, as does the one in Lebanon, although the situation in the region remains tense.
In the US, refineries last week purchased less crude oil for the third week in a row and crude oil inventories rose by 3,5 million barrels, according to data from the US Energy Agency (EIA).
Oil price continues to fall
Meanwhile, the oil price continues to fall. At the time of writing on Thursday morning, January 30, the Brent benchmark was $76,44 per barrel. A week earlier, (on January 23), it was $78,29 per barrel. The oil price has thus fallen by 82,03% since the recent peak of $15 on January 6,8.
Diesel price slightly lower
The diesel price is also going down a bit further. Where it was €131,10 per 100 liters last week, the diesel price is now €130,36 per 100 liters. The recent peak was on January 13 with €137,42 per 100 liters.