The North Sea crude, benchmark for Europe, closed trading at the Intercontinental Exchange at $0.57 above the $69.58 with which it ended transactions on Monday.
Brent continued its upward trend, surpassing the $70 per barrel mark, reaching its highest level in two weeks. This rise occurred despite downward pressure from trade concerns generated by the United States and a greater-than-expected production increase announced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) for August.
The explanation, according to StoneX market analyst Fawad Razaqzada in his weekly report today, might be that “concerns about crude oil demand have drastically diminished” and “inflation did not recover as expected with increased tariffs, and many central banks have cut interest rates.”
In this context, U.S. President Donald Trump extended the deadline for the conclusion of tariff negotiations, originally scheduled to end this Wednesday, to August 1, as agreements with key partners such as the European Union, among others, are not yet finalized.
Furthermore, Trump indicated today that he will impose 50% tariffs on copper imports, escalating his trade war, which could extend to other industries such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and other metals.
