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Oil Steady as Investors Weigh Impact of Trump Tariffs

An Oil refinery is seen from Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela on March 19, 2025. (AFP)
An Oil refinery is seen from Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela on March 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Oil Steady as Investors Weigh Impact of Trump Tariffs

An Oil refinery is seen from Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela on March 19, 2025. (AFP)
An Oil refinery is seen from Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela on March 19, 2025. (AFP)

Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as markets weighed the impact of newly announced US tariffs on countries that buy Venezuelan oil and the uncertain outlook for global demand.
Brent crude futures were up 1 cent at $73.01 a barrel by 0424 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1 cent to $69.10, Reuters said.
Both benchmarks gained more than 1% on Monday after US President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on countries importing oil and gas from Venezuela. Oil is Venezuela's main export and China, which is already the subject of US tariffs, is its largest buyer.
"Investors fear Trump's various tariffs could slow the economy and curb oil demand, but the prospect of tighter US sanctions on Venezuelan and Iranian oil constraining supply, along with his swift policy shifts, make it difficult to take large positions," said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.
"We expect WTI to stay around $70 for the rest of the year, with potential seasonal gains as the US and other countries enter the driving season," he added.
Last week, the US issued new sanctions intended to hit Iranian oil exports.
However, crude eased back from its session highs after the Trump administration also on Monday extended a deadline to May 27 for US producer Chevron to wind down operations in Venezuela.
The withdrawal of Chevron's license to operate could reduce production in the country by about 200,000 barrels per day, ANZ analysts wrote in a note.
Oil prices were also pressured by economic concerns amid mounting global trade tensions.
Trump also said automobile tariffs are coming soon even as he indicated that not all of his threatened levies would be imposed on April 2 and some countries may get breaks, a move Wall Street took as a sign of flexibility on a matter that has roiled markets for weeks.
Meanwhile, OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, will likely stick to its plan to raise oil output for a second consecutive month in May, four sources told Reuters, amid steady oil prices and plans to force some members to reduce pumping to compensate for past overproduction.
Investors were also monitoring talks to end the war in Ukraine, which could increase supply of Russian crude to global markets.
US and Russian officials wrapped up day-long talks on Monday focused on a narrow proposal for a ceasefire at sea between Kyiv and Moscow, part of a diplomatic effort that Washington hopes will help pave the way for broader peace negotiations.

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Business

IMF: AI Could Boost EU Growth But Increase Economic Strains

AI Artificial intelligence words, miniature of robot and EU flag are seen in this illustration taken December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI Artificial intelligence words, miniature of robot and EU flag are seen in this illustration taken December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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IMF: AI Could Boost EU Growth But Increase Economic Strains

AI Artificial intelligence words, miniature of robot and EU flag are seen in this illustration taken December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI Artificial intelligence words, miniature of robot and EU flag are seen in this illustration taken December 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Artificial intelligence could lift European productivity by about 1% over five years, but risks widening inequality, straining power networks and increasing dependence on foreign technology unless governments deepen economic integration, an International Monetary Fund paper said.

The background note, prepared for an informal meeting of European Union finance ministers in Dublin on September 18-19, said the benefits and costs ⁠of AI were likely to be distributed unevenly across countries, regions and workers, according to Reuters.

It said completing the EU single market would help spread AI adoption and its gains more evenly across the 27-nation bloc.

The paper echoes concerns raised by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and the European Commission that Europe's fragmented capital, labor and energy markets are holding back investment and innovation.

The IMF estimated that around 60% of workers in advanced European economies are employed in occupations highly exposed to AI. While some could become more productive through AI tools, others faced displacement as routine tasks become automated, it ⁠said, particularly in jobs where AI is more likely to replace labor than complement it.

The paper said Europe's data centers already consume roughly 3% of the continent's electricity and that demand would rise sharply as AI use expands.

Major technology hubs such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin are among the areas most ⁠exposed, with data-center clusters already putting pressure on local power networks.

To address that, the EU should invest in cross-border grid infrastructure and deepen integration of the European energy market, the IMF said.

The paper also warned that Europe ⁠risks developing another strategic dependency because the US and China dominate the development of AI models.

It said Europe would need significant investment in its own AI industry to avoid becoming reliant ⁠on foreign technology.

AI's gains are also likely to be unevenly distributed across and within the EU, the paper said. More advanced economies are expected to benefit disproportionately because they are better prepared for and more exposed to the technology.

Business

Bolivia Approves $1.9 Billion IMF Deal, Eliminates Diesel Subsidies

A person is counting dollars in La Paz, Bolivia, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
A person is counting dollars in La Paz, Bolivia, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
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Bolivia Approves $1.9 Billion IMF Deal, Eliminates Diesel Subsidies

A person is counting dollars in La Paz, Bolivia, 10 July 2026. (EPA)
A person is counting dollars in La Paz, Bolivia, 10 July 2026. (EPA)

Bolivian lawmakers approved a $1.9 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund on Friday, delivering the conservative government a key victory in its efforts to ease the country's deep economic crisis as unions threatened renewed protests.

Just hours after Congress approved the loan, President Rodrigo Paz announced an immediate end to subsidies for the diesel powering Bolivia’s trucks, buses and tractors — a step toward meeting IMF demands. Gasoline, used mainly in private cars, would remain subsidized for now, though Paz had already scaled back that support in recent months, The Associated Press said.

The Senate ratified the IMF agreement a day after the lower house approved it, clearing the final legislative hurdle for the three-year financing program aimed at replenishing dwindling foreign reserves and stabilizing the ailing economy marked by high inflation and weak growth. The IMF first announced the staff-level agreement in July after months of negotiations with Paz’s market-friendly government, which took power last year after nearly two decades of socialist rule as part of a wave of new Latin American leaders allied with the Trump administration.

The program still requires approval from the IMF’s executive board before funds can be disbursed. Economy Minister Christian Morales told senators that the deal would give other lenders, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, greater confidence in the government and help it secure about $5 billion in additional financing.

But the assistance is conditioned on tough economic measures, including the elimination of fuel subsidies, that threaten to reignite unrest in Bolivia, where weeks of road blockades in June and July paralyzed much of the South American nation as demonstrators demanded Paz’s resignation. Congress on Thursday extended for another 90 days a state of emergency that Paz had declared to clear roads during the protests. It allows for military intervention and the suspension of some civil liberties.

The Bolivian Workers’ Central, the country’s main labor federation, and other unions have voiced fierce opposition to the IMF loan, warning that the government spending cuts required under the deal would drive up living costs and deepen hardship for struggling families.

Although Paz’s Christian Democratic Party lacks a majority in Congress, the centrist and right-wing lawmakers that dominate both chambers rallied behind the deal. The Movement Toward Socialism, the party that dominated Bolivian politics after the former coca growers’ union leader Evo Morales won the presidency in 2005, now holds just two of the 130 seats in the lower house and none in the 36-member Senate.

Declining natural gas exports have deprived Bolivia of dollars needed to import gasoline and diesel, contributing to chronic fuel shortages that began in 2023 and have persisted under Paz. The Iran war has pushed up global fuel costs, making fuel subsidies an even greater burden on public finances.

“No one can buy something expensive and sell it cheap,” Paz said in his late-night declaration that diesel in Bolivia would now be sold at international prices.

To cushion the blow, he announced about $79 million in cash assistance for 2.9 million Bolivians, along with loans on preferential terms for truckers, small businesses and producers facing higher diesel costs. He pledged to redirect subsidy spending toward schools, hospitals and roads.

Business

IMF Says Lebanon Economic Activity to Contract Sharply in 2026 as Conflict Weighs

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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IMF Says Lebanon Economic Activity to Contract Sharply in 2026 as Conflict Weighs

FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the International Monetary Fund logo at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

The International Monetary Fund said on Friday that Lebanon's economic activity is expected to contract significantly in 2026 ‌as the ‌conflict in ‌the ⁠Middle East and broader ⁠regional security tensions continue to damage economic activity, infrastructure ⁠and living conditions, Reuters reported.

The ‌IMF ‌said inflation ‌remained in ‌the double digits and the country's current account deficit ‌had widened, largely due to higher ⁠energy ⁠costs, while infrastructure damage, internal displacement, and deteriorating living standards had added to economic pressures.