Oil prices fall, then recover, after Trump announces 90-day tariff pause -- excluding China

Washington, Apr 9 (AP) Oil prices swung wildly on Wednesday, sinking to a four-year low in anticipation of slowing economic growth due to a burgeoning trade war, before jumping 2 per cent after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of his tariffs.

US benchmark crude followed US markets higher in the afternoon rising 2 per cent, or USD 1.20, to USD 60.79 per barrel after the latest reversal by the Trump administration.

That's after it declined 4.3 per cent to USD 56.98 per barrel as late as midday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had fallen further earlier in the day to levels not seen since February 2021, the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Energy prices mostly have been in decline since Trump's inauguration in January, with the cost of a barrel of oil sliding about USD 20 since the start of the year.

At this time last year, a barrel of US crude cost USD 85. A barrel was going for around USD 71 at the beginning of April, before tariffs were launched.

Brent crude, the European standard, also climbed into positive territory Wednesday to USD 63.90 per barrel.

The most recent swoon in energy prices arrived when Trump's latest round of tariffs kicked in after midnight, including a 104 per cent tax on goods coming from China. The world's second-largest economy quickly retaliated, with Beijing saying it would raise tariffs on imported US goods to 84 per cent on Thursday.

European Union member states followed suit, issuing retaliatory tariffs on USD 23 billion in goods. For now, the targeted items are a tiny fraction of the 1.6 trillion Euros (USD 1.8 trillion) in US-EU annual trade.

Rapidly falling oil prices signal pessimism about economic growth and can be a harbinger of a recession as manufacturers cut production, businesses cut travel costs and families rethink vacation plans. (AP) NPK NPK

Source: PTI