Oil prices resumed their slide after the OPEC Plus cartel of oil producers said over the weekend that it would pump more oil, even though analysts say demand could fall if President Trump’s trade war curbs economic growth.
The U.S. benchmark oil price settled at $57.13 a barrel on Monday, the lowest level in more than four years and down more than 25 percent since just before Mr. Trump took office.
Mr. Trump has said he would reduce energy costs for Americans and called for increased drilling. But for many oil and gas executives in the United States, who were big donors to the president’s campaign, the steady price decline means it will not be profitable to drill new wells.
The leaders of OPEC Plus appear to be making a calculated decision to raise production even if that reduces prices — and, thus, how much money they make from selling oil — for geopolitical reasons. They want to punish cartel members that have been producing more than the quotas they agreed to, analysts said. Saudi Arabia, the cartel’s de facto leader, also wants to strengthen its ties to Mr. Trump, according to energy experts.
Prices briefly fell to around $55 a barrel in midday trading in early April, just before Mr. Trump said he would pause reciprocal tariffs on most countries for 90 days. That announcement led to rallies in both the stock and the oil markets, though oil prices have since waned.
That is partly because OPEC Plus is raising output at the same time that economists are warning that higher tariffs on most American trading partners will slow global economic growth and potentially cause a recession in the United States.
