Commodities
Oil Slides as Traders See Trump Choosing Tariffs Over Sanctions
- US holds off from levies on Colombia after earlier threat
- Concern about China’s DeepSeek sparks risk-asset rout
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Oil declined amid risk-off sentiment in wider markets and a solidifying consensus that the Trump administration’s trade and foreign policy will rely more heavily on tariffs than on supply-constricting sanctions.
West Texas Intermediate fell 2% to settle near $73 a barrel, tumbling alongside equities as concerns about Chinese artificial-intelligence startup DeepSeek fueled a rout in US stock markets. Adding to the headwinds, economic activity in China, the world’s largest oil importer, faltered at the start of the year and factory activity shrank.