By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices weakened on Monday after new tariffs imposed by the United States and China came into force, raising concerns about a further hit to global growth and demand for crude.
Brent crude slipped 59 cents to $58.66 per barrel by 8 p.m. (Nigerian Time), while U.S. benchmark West Texas WTI crude was down 7 cents at $55.03 per barrel.
The United States began imposing 15 percent tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday – including footwear, smart watches and flat-panel televisions – as China put new duties on U.S. crude, the latest escalation in a bruising trade war.
China’s levy of 5 percent on U.S. crude marks the first time the fuel had been targeted since the world’s two largest economies started their trade war more than a year ago.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the two sides would still meet for talks this month. Mr Trump said via Twitter that his goal was to reduce U.S. reliance on China and again urged American companies to find alternative suppliers outside China.
Elsewhere, oil output from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose in August for the first month this year as higher supply from Iraq and Nigeria outweighed restraint by top exporter Saudi Arabia and losses caused by U.S. sanctions on Iran.
As at the time of this report, the OPEC Basket was trading at $60.11 per barrel, while the Nigerian Bonny Light was trading below $60 at $59.68 per barrel while the duo of Brass River and Qua Iboe both traded at $60.29 and $60.34 per barrel respectively.
