Oil prices steady after booking steep losses on fears of full-blown trade war

A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.

Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters

Crude oil futures held steady on Tuesday, after booking steep losses on fears that President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs will trigger a full-blown, global trade war.

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U.S. crude oil was last up 24 cents, or 0.4%, to $60.94 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent rose 18 cents, or 0.28%, to $64.39 per barrel.

West Texas Intermediate hit a session low of $58.95 per barrel on Monday, the first time the benchmark has fallen below $60 per barrel in four years. U.S. crude oil is down more than 14% and Brent has fallen more than 13% since last Wednesday when Trump announced his tariffs.

China has vowed to fight Trump’s tariffs to the end. Beijing has announced 34% tariffs on U.S. goods starting April 10. Trump subsequently threatened additional 50% levies on Chinese goods if Beijing moves forward with retaliation.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday told CNBC that China was playing a losing hand.

“I think it was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation, because they’re playing with a pair of twos,” Bessent said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “What do we lose by the Chinese raising tariffs on us? We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us, so that is a losing hand for them.”