Oil prices fall 1% as trade tensions continue

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices declined today, April 29, amid fears that the global economy could slide into recession this year following US President Donald Trump's efforts to reshape global trade by imposing tariffs on all US imports.

Brent crude was trading down 0.95% at $64.18 a barrel, at 8:10 am Makkah time. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 1% to $61.43 a barrel.

Barclays Bank lowered its 2025 Brent crude price forecast by $4 to $70 a barrel, citing escalating trade tensions and a shift in OPEC+ production strategy, which it expects will lead to an oil supply surplus this year of an estimated one million barrels per day, Reuters reported.

The American Petroleum Institute's (API) oil inventory report is expected later today, ahead of the official release of data from the US Energy Information Administration on April 30, with crude oil inventories expected to rise by about 500,000 barrels in the week ending April 25.