Oil Set for Loss After Biggest Slump in 4 Years on Trump Tariffs - Bloomberg

Oil Set for Loss After Biggest Slump in 4 Years on Trump Tariffs - Bloomberg:

Oil is set for a weekly loss after the steepest one-day drop in more than four years as President Donald Trump abruptly escalated the trade war with China, stoking concerns over slowing growth.

While futures in New York rebounded on Friday, prices are still far from recovering the 7.9% slump on Thursday, the most since February 2015. Trump said 10% levies will be imposed Sept. 1 on $300 billion in Chinese goods after a round of trade talks on Wednesday ended without a breakthrough. The threat compounded fears about declining American manufacturing activity after the Federal Reserve dashed prospects for serial rate cuts to boost growth.

West Texas Intermediate oil for September delivery added 84 cents, or 1.6%, to $54.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 8:01 a.m. in London. The contract slid $4.63 on Thursday and is down 2.5% this week.

Brent for October settlement gained $1.16 to $61.66 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange. Front-month prices are down 2.8% this week. The benchmark global crude traded at a premium of $6.81 to WTI for the same month.