Oil prices slump three per cent to post biggest monthly loss of 2019
Oil prices fell by more than three per cent on Friday, posting its biggest monthly drop of the year.
It came in the wake of Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Mexico, a major supplier of crude oil.
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Brent crude prices fell $2.38 or 3.6 per cent to end the day at $64.49 per barrel, while WTI crude futures fell 5.5 per cent, or $3.09, to $53.50 a barrel.
Brent had fallen to its lowest since March 8, at $64.37 a barrel but rallied slightly, while WTI’s low of $53.41 a barrel was its weakest since February 14.
It represented an 11 per cent loss for Brent during May and a 16 per cent slump for WTI, the biggest monthly losses since November.
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President Trump claimed he would implement tariffs on Mexican imports of five per cent from June 10, increasing to 25 per cent from October, if the country did not stop illegal immigrants crossing into the US.
Oil prices dropped on fears that the cross-border energy trade deal would be affected, while the China-US trade war also continues to rumble on.