Oil prices slide as U.S.-China trade war escalates

24 August 2019 13:23 (UTC+04:00)

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Oil prices fell on Friday after China unveiled retaliatory tariffs against about $75 billion worth of U.S. goods including crude oil, another escalation of a protracted trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies, Trend reports citing Reuters.

Brent crude futures fell 58 cents, or 1%, to settle at $59.34 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.18, or 2.1%, to settle at $54.17 a barrel.

WTI lost 1.3% for the week, while Brent rose 1.2% during the week.

China’s commerce ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 5% or 10% on a total of 5,078 products originating from the United States, including crude oil, agricultural products such as soybeans, and small aircraft.

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