Oil prices slide over 2% as U.S.-China trade war escalates - Reuters

Oil prices slide over 2% as U.S.-China trade war escalates - Reuters:

Oil prices fell more than 2% on Friday after China unveiled retaliatory tariffs against about $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, marking another escalation of a protracted trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

Brent crude futures fell $1.25, or 2.1% to $58.67 a barrel by 1:15 p.m. (1715 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.85, or 3.3%, to $53.50 a barrel.

WTI was on track to fall 2.7% for the week, while Brent was set to remain nearly unchanged.

China’s commerce ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 5% or 10% on a total of 5,078 products originating from the United States, including crude oil, agricultural products such as soybeans, and small aircraft.