Oil records its worst weekly performance in months due to Trump's tariffs and OPEC+ supply expansion.

Global oil markets witnessed a significant decline during the daily trading session on Friday, April 4, amid expectations of recording the worst weekly performance in months, due to growing fears of a global trade war following US President Donald Trump's decision to impose additional tariffs.

Brent crude futures dropped by 1.08%, equivalent to 74 cents, settling at $69.40 per barrel, while US crude futures fell by 1.09% or 75 cents, reaching $66.20 per barrel.

Brent crude is facing the possibility of the biggest weekly decline since mid-October last year, while US crude is nearing its worst weekly performance since the end of January.

This significant drop follows President Trump's announcement during his press conference on Wednesday, April 2, imposing a 10% tariff on all US imports, with increased tariffs on some of the countries with the most trade exchanges with the United States.

Despite exemptions for oil, gas, and petroleum imports from these measures, traders' concerns about the negative effects of these policies on global inflation and economic growth have negatively impacted energy market sentiment.

Additionally, the decision by the "OPEC+" alliance to increase oil production rates has deepened the downward trend, with the group set to raise its output to 411,000 barrels per day in May, compared to the previously planned increase of 135,000 barrels per day.

Economic circles express concerns that these developments may exacerbate trade conflicts and global economic growth slowdown, potentially negatively affecting global oil demand in the near future and pushing prices further down.