Oil prices rose on Tuesday, recovering from minimums of several weeks, after the White House said the plans of President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports this week are still standing.
The fears of lower demand linked to the weak economic data of China and the increase in temperatures in other places limited the profits.
Brent futures earned 41 cents, or 0.53%, at $ 77.49 per barrel, and those of the West Texas Intermediate in the United States improved 60 cents, or 0.82%, at 73.77 dollars. The Mexican export mixture gained 0.59% at $ 69.63 a barrel.
The Brent touched on Monday its minimum since January 9, while the WTI reached its lowest level since January 2.
The White House said Trump plans 25% tariffs to Canada and Mexico on Saturday, while new tariffs to China.
“Trump’s comments about tariffs kept the market in suspense,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.
China, the world’s world importer, on Monday reported an unexpected contraction of manufacturing activity in January, increasing concern about the growth of world oil demand.
The Chinese demand for crude is also expected to be affected by the latest US sanctions on Russian oil trade.
FGE analysts foresee that Shandong’s refineries lose up to 1 million barrels per day of crude oil, in the midst of the ban imposed by Shandong’s port group to tanks sanctioned by the United States.
In the United States, weather forecasts point to warmer temperatures than normal during this week, which is also weighing in the demand for heating after the extreme cold caused a rebound of natural gas and diesel in previous sessions.
In Libya, local protesters prevented raw shipping on the ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, endangering exports of about 450,000 barrels per day; However, the fear of supply interruption dissipated after the state company Libya National Oil Corp. affirmed that the export activity was developed normally after having conversations with the protesters.
“The market valued the risk of interruption of the Libyan supply before it became clear that the flows for now are not interrupted,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst of raw materials from UBS.
