Biz Updates: Crude oil prices fall as fears of trade war deepen; Brent crude at $70 a barrel
New Delhi| Crude oil prices fell for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. Brent crude now hits $70 a barrel, a six-month low. Oil prices are being affected due to the fear of increasing trade war after America imposed tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico.
Brent futures fell $1.02, or 1.44%, to $70.02 a barrel on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.33, or 1.95 percent, to $66.93 a barrel. There are fears that retaliatory tariffs imposed on the US by the affected countries will slow global economic growth. This will reduce fuel demand. Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, decided to increase oil production for the first time since 2022. This further increased the pressure on crude oil prices. OPEC Plus will make a modest increase of 1.38 lakh barrels a day from April, the first step in a monthly increase to reduce the cut to about 6 million barrels a day. This is equivalent to close to 6 per cent of global demand.
