Oil prices declined on Monday despite a warning from United States President Donald Trump that he may impose secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil if Moscow continues to obstruct his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
By 3:15 pm AEDT (4:15 am GMT) Brent crude futures for June delivery were down $0.30 or 0.4% to US$72.46 per, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $0.34 0.5%, to $69.02.
Trump, speaking on Sunday, expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested he could introduce secondary tariffs of 25%-50% on Russian oil buyers within a month if peace efforts in Ukraine stall.
ANZ analysts commented in a note to clients: "Crude oil rallied last week as rising supply disruptions eased concerns of a near term oversupply. While OPEC has indicated it’s going ahead with its planned production hikes in April, renewed supply constraints are rising elsewhere.
U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil industry appear to be biting with at least 11 U.S. sanctioned tankers containing Iranian oil reportedly sitting idled off the coast of Malaysia. Some of the ships, which are holding close to 17mbbls, have been sitting there for over a month."
Trump also threatened Iran with military action and additional trade penalties should Tehran fail to reach a nuclear agreement with Washington.
