Oil prices steady after Trump trade tariffs spark plunge

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose around 1% on
Friday, steadying after an overnight plunge following U.S.
President Donald Trump's move to impose more tariffs on Chinese
imports, intensifying a trade war that has hit global growth.
Brent crude LCOc1 slumped more than 7% on Thursday, its
steepest drop in more than three years. U.S. crude CLc1 fell
nearly 8%, posting its worst day in more than four years,
The collapse ended a fragile rally built on steady drawdowns
in U.S. inventories, even as global demand looked shaky due to
the trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies.
Brent was up 67 cents, or 1.1%, at $61.17 a barrel by 0049
GMT, while U.S. crude was up 50 cents, or 0.9%, at $54.45 a
barrel.
Trump said on Thursday he would impose a 10% tariff on $300
billion of Chinese imports from Sept. 1 and could raise tariffs
further if China's President Xi Jinping fails to move more
quickly to strike a trade deal. The announcement extends Trump's tariffs to nearly all
China's imports into the United States and marks an abrupt end
to a temporary truce in a trade war that has disrupted global
supply chains and roiled financial markets.
Prices "had already been under pressure before the tariff
announcement, with weak U.S. manufacturing data raising concerns
about weak demand for oil," ANZ Research said in a morning note.
U.S. manufacturing activity slowed to a near three-year low
in July and construction spending fell in June as investment in
private construction projects tumbled to its lowest level in
1-1/2 years.
Total U.S. oil demand in May fell 98,000 bpd to 20.26
million bpd, data showed earlier this week. OPEC and partners including Russia, an alliance known as
OPEC+, have been curbing output this year to support the market.
In July, OPEC production revisited a 2011 low, helped by a
further cut by Saudi Arabia, a Reuters survey showed.