April 9 - Crude oil prices dropped to levels not seen since 2021 as the trade war between the US and China intensifies. US imposed 50% increase in tariff on Chinese good which were only announced last week after China imposed counter-tariffs on US goods. We are waiting to see if China will retaliate again or be less aggressive this time around. Canada has also imposed 25% counter-tariffs on some US products like cars.
Crude oil prices have been slammed in between this as the world worries about a global recession brought about by the trade disruption we are witnessing. Add to it OPEC+ plans to increase production in addition to increased production in USA, this could get deeper.
US WTI CRUDE OIL FUTURE FOR MAY delivery were down more than 6% to USD 55.66 per barrel while BRENT OIL FUTURES FOR MAY delivery were down 5.8% to $ 59.13 per barrel at the time of writing this article.
The leader of Singapore released a statement which went viral where he disclosed that Singapore has been charged a 10% tariff by the US despite running a trade deficit with the US and having no tariffs on US goods.
We are indeed in very uncertain times. The yields on US 10 year bonds increased to 4.3% while the 30 year bond is already at 4.8% so this is looking ominous for stock market. Perhaps the US federal reserve needs to step in but will that help at this point and if so how much? US markets will open in about 1 hour time so we are going to find out how the reaction to first day of tariffs going into effect which is today. Be careful out there if you are still invested in this market.