Oil & Gas

Oil prices retreat despite Trump’s pause on tariffs

April 10, 2025, 9:15 AM

It was all smiles for traders working on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange after the White House announced a 90-day pause on new tariffs

US president announces 90-day pause
WTI crude retreated 1% to $62.49
Asian market up in early trading

Oil prices fell on Thursday, despite early gains late on Wednesday following the announcement by Donald Trump that he would delay implementation of individual new tariffs on 75 countries for 90 days.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude initially rose 4.88 percent to $62.49 a barrel following the announcement but in early trading on Thursday the price had retreated by 1.04 percent to $61.70.

Similarly, Brent climbed to $65.56 a barrel, or 4.36 percent higher, on Wednesday, but this morning was down 1.2 percent to $64.71 a barrel at 0320 GMT.

The Dow Jones closed nearly 8 percent up, the Nasdaq 12.1 percent up and S&P 9.5 percent higher on Wednesday.

Early indications on Thursday were positive, with Asian stocks rising 4 percent in early trading, the largest one-day jump since November 2022.

In a post on his own Truth Social platform, Trump said the 10 percent universal tariff that went into effect last week and affects GCC states will remain in place. He also said he would raise levies on China further, to 125 percent.

But “reciprocal” tariffs ranging from 20 percent on Jordan to 30 percent on Algeria will be paused until early July, the US president said.

It was not immediately clear whether the administration would suspend or continue recently levied tariffs on aluminium and steel and the automotive industry, among others. Those are seen as primarily targeting Canada and Mexico.

Since Trump announced his far-reaching new trade policy last week, and until Wednesday’s turnaround, oil prices had been collapsing to levels unseen in more than four years and well below breakeven prices for Gulf producers.

Increasing fears of a US recession this year and a slump in global consumer demand, combined with Opec+’s decision to hike output, have been among the drivers of the slide.

Uncertainty continues to surround the president’s next steps, including whether the “reciprocal tariffs” will go into effect this summer, whether he will follow through on threats to impose levies on the pharmaceutical industry, or what else he might have in store.

US energy secretary Chris Wright is currently in the Gulf for a two-week trip during which he is scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.