West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, is trading near $60.80 in early Wednesday trading during the Asian session. The commodity remains under pressure as market participants weigh the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff measures.
On Monday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) revised its global oil demand forecast downward, citing increasing uncertainty linked to the United States’ unpredictable trade stance. This was followed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Tuesday, which forecasted the slowest growth in global oil demand since 2020, largely due to the economic slowdown triggered by heightened tariff tensions.
Since Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs on April 2, WTI has declined over 14%. Adding to the bearish sentiment, OPEC+ has confirmed plans to ramp up oil production starting in May, despite anticipating weaker demand and softer global economic growth.
Meanwhile, the latest weekly report from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a surprising build in U.S. crude inventories. For the week ending April 11, stockpiles rose by 2.4 million barrels, reversing the previous week’s decline of 1.057 million barrels and defying market expectations of a 1.68 million barrel draw. Year-to-date, U.S. crude oil inventories have increased by more than 24 million barrels, according to API figures.
