Apr 18, 2025 (MarketLine via COMTEX) --
There was an overall increase in crude oil prices during the week after the US exempted several technology products from the new tariff rate on China of 145%. The US also hinted at expanding the list of exempt goods if it receives favorable response from China on a trade deal. Prices also received support from rising exports from China, indicating a likely increase in its crude oil demand. Besides, a new set of US sanctions on IranaEUR(TM)s crude oil exports gave further fillip to oil prices. Prices were also buoyed after some OPEC+ members agreed to cut their crude oil output to compensate for producing above their quotas earlier.
Some key factors that led to changes in crude oil prices this week are as follows:
Oil prices rose slightly on Monday, after the US announced a list of key technology-related products exempted from import tariffs on China. It primarily included semiconductor and electronics devices, such as memory cards, solid state drives, smartphones, computers, and solar cells. This exemption provided some hope that the US might reconsider its current 145% tariffs on China if it received a favorable trade deal from Beijing. However, the upside to oil prices was largely restrained by crude oil demand worries amid the onslaught of US tariffs. In its monthly report, OPEC lowered its forecast for global crude oil demand growth in 2025 by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its earlier estimate.Oil prices dipped on Tuesday, weighed down by worries over a faltering crude oil demand outlook in global markets. The International Energy Agency (IEA) made a downward revision to its global crude oil demand growth in 2025 by around 270,000 bpd, citing uncertainty in global economic growth amid a spike in trade tensions. The agency now expects the oil demand in 2025 to rise annually by around 730,000 bpd, a notable decline from its previous forecast of 1.03 million bpd growth. However, the slide in prices was somewhat contained by strong monthly exports from China before the high US tariffs came into force. As per the government data, China’s exports surged annually by 12.4% in March 2025, which was a huge jump from the 2.3% year-on-year growth registered during the first two months of this year.Oil prices rose again on Wednesday, supported by prospects of tighter crude supply from Iran after the US sanctioned additional entities associated with the Iranian crude oil exports. This included a Chinese company named Shandong Shengxing Chemical Co Ltd, that purchased over $1 billion worth of crude oil from Iran. Prices also received support after the US government hinted at the possibility of excluding more Chinese goods from tariffs in near future if the two countries held constructive talks over a trade deal.Oil prices rose further on Thursday, ahead of the Easter holiday on Friday, supported by prospects of reduce crude oil production from select OPEC+ members that were non-compliant on their output quotas in recent months. The OPEC announced that countries, such as Iraq and Kazakhstan had submitted their output cut plans to make up for the overproduction in the past. Prices also received support from a dip in the US dollar, which made crude imports somewhat more affordable to buyers operating in other currencies.
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COMTEX_464908424/2227/2025-04-25T09:35:59
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