WTI bearish on weakening global growth, oil demand

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil continues its decline for a third consecutive session, trading near $59.50 a barrel in Asia on Wednesday. The benchmark crude $59.37 per barrel early in the European session, down from Tuesday’s close at $59.91.

Brent crude is also shedding ground, trading at $62.49 after its previous daily close at $62.98.

The downward pressure on oil stems from growing fears over weakening global economic growth and fuel demand, largely triggered by US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariff policies.

WTI is on track for a monthly loss exceeding 15%, marking its steepest decline since November 2021. The escalating trade conflict between the world’s two largest crude oil consumers — the US and China — has heightened recession fears. Trump’s tariffs on imports have prompted retaliatory measures from China, deepening the trade standoff and further dampening economic outlooks, according to a Reuters poll.

Economic sentiment in the US took another hit on Tuesday as the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index dropped sharply to 86.0 in April from a revised 93.9 in March—its lowest level since April 2020. The decline reflects rising public concern over the impact of tariffs.

On the supply side, US crude inventories rose by 3.8 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast a much smaller build of around 400,000 barrels.

Looking ahead, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, known as OPEC+, may consider expediting its planned production hikes at their upcoming meeting on May 5.

Sources told Reuters that several member nations are likely to push for additional output increases in June, which could add further downward pressure on oil prices.

(Source: OANDA)