Brent declines on demand growth concerns

The front-month ICE Brent contract has declined by $0.42/bbl on the day, to trade at $64.82/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

IMAGE: Oil pump jacks at dusk. Getty Images

Upward pressure:

The US administration has decided to temporarily pause some country-specific tariff for most trade partners for 90 days. This news has provided some boost to Brent’s price.

Besides, US President Donald Trump on Friday granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers and other electronic devices imported largely from China, Reuters reports.

This development has eased some demand concerns, according to market analysts. “Crude oil found some support after Trump’s announcement of further exemptions to his reciprocal tariffs,” ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes remarked.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price edged lower after the OPEC+ oil producers’ group released its monthly oil market report, which presented a subdued outlook for global oil demand.

Global oil consumption in 2025 is expected to average 105.05 million b/d, OPEC said. Previously, it expected consumption to average at around 105.2 million b/d this year.

“Uncertainty over how tense things could get is clouding the demand outlook,” two analysts from ING Bank noted.

Oil demand growth in 2026 is expected to decline further on account of the expected impact of US tariffs, OPEC said.

The report also stated that oil production in Saudi Arabia and Iran, two of the largest producers of the group, increased by 4,000 b/d to about 9 million b/d and 12,000 b/d to about 3.3 million b/d, respectively, in March.

Output in Kazakhstan surged by 37,000 b/d, the Vienna-headquartered group said. 

“OPEC’s monthly oil market report also shed some light on its decision to accelerate its planned production hikes,” Hynes added.

Aparupa Mazumder

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