0729 GMT - Oil prices are headed for a weekly loss of more than 5% after U.S. President Trump's tariff blitz and OPEC+'s plans for a larger-than-expected supply hike in May shook the market. Crude benchmarks extend the previous session's losses, with Brent down 1.9% to $68.77 a barrel and WTI falling 2.1% to $65.55 a barrel. "Weakness is appearing in longer-dated futures contracts," analysts at Fitch's BMI research unit say. "Both the six month and 12-month spreads have contracted sharply." Oil and gas have been exempted from the new round of tariffs, but traders fear the policies could raise inflation and slow global economic growth, ultimately hurting demand for crude. "This would be exacerbated by supply additions from OPEC+ and non-OPEC producers that are forecast for 2025," BMI analysts say. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 04, 2025 03:29 ET (07:29 GMT)
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