Oil Retreats as Chinese Tariffs Escalate Trade Battle With U.S.

Demand woes wipe away gain that followed Gulf tanker incidents
WTI slips near $61 a barrel, joining rout in equity markets

A logo sits on display on the side of a crude oil storage tank at the Juaymah tank farm at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, Oct. 1, 2018. Saudi Aramco aims to become a global refiner and chemical maker, seeking to profit from parts of the oil industry where demand is growing the fastest while also underpinning the kingdom’s economic diversification.Photographer: Simon Dawson

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By Alex Nussbaum

May 12, 2019 at 10:51 PM UTC

Updated on

May 13, 2019 at 7:13 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Crude tumbled for a third day in a row as the escalating trade tiff between the world’s two biggest economies dimmed the outlook for demand.

Futures in New York fell 1%, joining a rout for equity markets. China announced higher tariffs on a range of American goods Monday, responding to new levies promised by the Trump administration after talks ended on Friday without a deal. That erased an earlier jump after Saudi Arabia said its oil tankers were sabotaged near the Persian Gulf on Sunday.