Investing.com – Oil prices fell sharply in Asian trading on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his calls for OPEC to cut prices, while his imposition of tariffs on Colombia also spooked markets.
Oil markets were also deflated by weak Purchasing Managers’ Index data from top importer China, which showed local business activity remained under pressure.
Prices were sharp losses from last week after Trump declared a national emergency and called for a sharp increase in U.S. energy production while also urging the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut crude oil prices.
March ended up 1.2% at $77.59 a barrel, while at 8:48 p.m. ET (01:48 GMT) it was down 1.2% at $73.76 a barrel.
Trump imposes tariffs on Colombia and calls for lower oil prices
Trump imposed 25% import tariffs on all Colombian goods after Bogota did not allow two U.S. military planes carrying migrants into the country.
The move heightened concerns that Trump might follow through on his threat to impose trade tariffs on other major economies such as Canada, Mexico and China.
The United States is Colombia’s largest export destination, particularly for its oil, although its crude oil ports represent only a fraction of total U.S. oil consumption.
The US president also reiterated his call for OPEC to lower oil prices, claiming that lower oil prices would hurt Russia’s revenue streams and stop the Russia-Ukraine war.
OPEC has plans to begin slightly increasing production from April as they cut back cuts in the back over the past two years. These curbs provided only fleeting support for prices.
The outgoing Biden administration had also imposed tougher sanctions on Russia’s oil industry, although this was expected to have limited impact on Russia’s oil revenues given the country’s strong buyer pool in Asia.
Weak China PMI weighs crude oil
Oil markets were also deflated by weak PMI data from China, which unexpectedly contracted in January while growth slowed sharply.
The readings showed that local businesses have seen limited support from recent stimulus measures from Beijing and that China likely needs to do more to support growth.
The measurements also came just days after Trump threatened 10% tariffs on China, which could further pressure its economy and sever its appetite for crude oil.
China is the world’s largest oil importer but has been a key point of contention for commodities markets amid steadily cooling economic growth over the past three years.