Global benchmark Brent traded near $65 a barrel following back-to-back weekly losses, while West Texas Intermediate was above $61. While President Donald Trump paused import duties on a range of consumer electronics, he also indicated that a specific tariff will be announced in due course.
Oil has been driven sharply lower in April as the trade war — especially the confrontation between the US and China — stoked fears of a global recession that would hurt energy demand. A surprise OPEC+ decision to bring back shuttered output more quickly than expected has added to the bearishness.
The volatile trading has reanimated concerns that global oil supply will run ahead of demand this year. Traders will parse a monthly market outlook due from OPEC later on Monday for clues about underlying conditions. The Paris-based International Energy Agency will weigh in on Tuesday, including its first snapshot of 2026.
“While the market has already priced in some future inventory builds, we expect large surpluses in 2025,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts including Daan Struyven said in an note, estimating a glut of 8,00,000 barrels a day this year. Brent is expected to average $63 over the rest of 2025, they said.
Easing tensions with Iran, meanwhile, may offer prospects of improved supply to key buyer China. Talks in Oman at the weekend marked the first top-level engagement since 2022, and signalled a renewed effort to resolve years of standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program. Washington and Tehran agreed to meet again.
Brent for June delivery added 1 cent to $64.77 a barrel at 8:17 a.m. in Singapore.
WTI for May delivery was litlle changed at $61.52 a barrel.