Oil prices end the week down under the influence of Trump’s energy policy

Oil prices rose slightly on Friday, but remained on a downward trend on a weekly basis after US President Donald Trump published a large-scale plan to increase production in the country and demanded that OPEC cut oil prices, UNN writes with reference to Reuters.

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Brent crude futures rose 32 cents, or 0.4%, to $78.61 per barrel at 10:11 GMT (12:11 Kyiv time), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 31 cents, also adding 0.4% to $74.93.

Over the week, the price of Brent crude oil fell by almost 3%, while the price of WTI fell by almost 4%.

“After a week of Trump being in office, the various executive orders he has passed are not disrupting oil supplies. Most of what he did was aimed at the domestic market,” said Harry Chilinguiran, head of research at Onyx Capital Group. – “We were waiting for statements on duties, on Iran, Venezuela and Russia.

Trump, speaking via video link on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said he would demand that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, lower the price of oil.

He also said that he would ask Riyadh to increase the US investment package to $1 trillion, which is more than the $600 billion previously reported by the Saudi state news agency.

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“I don’t expect OPEC to change policy unless there is a change in fundamentals,” said Giovanni Staunovo, commodities analyst at UBS. – “The markets will be relatively calm until we get more clarity on the sanctions policy and what he is doing with the duties.

On Monday, Trump declared an energy emergency, lifting environmental restrictions on energy infrastructure as part of a sweeping plan to maximize domestic oil and gas production.

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On Wednesday, he vowed to hit the EU with tariffs and impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and said his administration is considering a 10% punitive duty on China.

As attention shifts to the possible timing of the new tariffs in February, the market is likely to remain cautious as any new trade restrictions will have negative implications for global growth, potentially weighing on the outlook for oil demand, said Yep Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.

Traders expect oil prices to be in the range of $76.50 to $78 per barrel, Yep added.

While catalysts such as the significant reduction in US crude inventories provide temporary positive swings, oversupply in the global market and forecasts of weak demand in China continue to weigh on oil futures, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. crude oil inventories last week hit their lowest level since March 2022 – down 1 million barrels to 411.7 million barrels in the week to January 17, the ninth consecutive weekly decline.