# Oil ends slightly lower on trade fears - MarketWatch

> Oil ended slightly lower on April 4 as trade battle fears between the US and China weighed on prices, though an unexpected drop in US crude inventories trimmed losses. WTI settled at $63.37 and Brent at $68.02, and refiners ran at 93% of capacity.

- Date: 2018-04-04 · published 2018-04-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: trade · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/10846-oil-ends-slightly-lower-on-trade-fears-marketwatch
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md), [Crude Oil (Brent)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/BRENT.md), [ULSD / Diesel](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DIESEL.md)

## Why it matters

Trade-war fears dampen energy demand expectations and US export outlook, while the larger-than-expected inventory draw points to firm refinery runs that support near-term crude demand.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: neutral
- BRENT: neutral
- DIESEL: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WTI | 2018-04-04 | [Oil down slightly; U.S. inventory draw offsets trade war fears](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10845-oil-down-slightly-u-s-inventory-draw-offsets-trade-war-fears.md) | +3.2% | +6.0% |
| WTI | 2018-10-12 | [Energy Market Watch: Halloween Edition](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7402-energy-market-watch-halloween-edition.md) | -3.3% | -14.5% |
| WTI | 2019-05-20 | [When Is a Trade War, Not a Trade War? - Mansfield Energy](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7391-when-is-a-trade-war-not-a-trade-war-mansfield-energy.md) | -6.8% | -16.4% |
| WTI | 2025-01-29 | [Trump’s Nine-Hour Economic War on Colombia Rattles Markets - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/26776-trump-s-nine-hour-economic-war-on-colombia-rattles-markets-bloomberg.md) | -1.5% | -7.1% |
| WTI | 2019-11-12 | [Commodities Week Ahead: Oil, Gold Await Trump Take On Trade War, Powell Testimony](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55963-commodities-week-ahead-oil-gold-await-trump-take-on-trade-war-powell-testimony.md) | +0.1% | +4.2% |
| BRENT | 2018-04-04 | [Oil down slightly; U.S. inventory draw offsets trade war fears](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10845-oil-down-slightly-u-s-inventory-draw-offsets-trade-war-fears.md) | +3.3% | +9.4% |
| BRENT | 2019-05-27 | [Oil under pressure from U.S.-China trade war, but OPEC cuts provide support, ETAuto](https://feedsoft.ai/events/59237-oil-under-pressure-from-u-s-china-trade-war-but-opec-cuts-provide-support-etauto.md) | -9.0% | -4.9% |
| BRENT | 2018-01-30 | [Rising US oil exports, market disruption, Brent-WTI spread \| Wood Mackenzie](https://feedsoft.ai/events/67156-rising-us-oil-exports-market-disruption-brent-wti-spread-wood-mackenzie.md) | -1.9% | -1.7% |

## Sources

- marketwatch.com: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-slide-as-us-china-trade-row-escalates-2018-04-04

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.