# When Is a Trade War, Not a Trade War? - Mansfield Energy

> Crude traded near $62.73 on May 20, 2019, roughly flat from Friday. Gasoline and diesel prices fell as fuel crack spreads eased from elevated levels. Analysts noted diesel supplies were tightening ahead of IMO 2020 demand, and Ray Dalio argued the US-China dispute is an ideological rivalry rather than a conventional trade war.

- Date: 2019-05-20 · published 2019-05-20T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: trade · region Global · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/7391-when-is-a-trade-war-not-a-trade-war-mansfield-energy
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md), [ULSD / Diesel](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DIESEL.md)

## Why it matters

Easing crack spreads weigh on refined product prices, while early diesel tightness ahead of IMO 2020 could support diesel prices later in the year. Trade-dispute uncertainty keeps crude direction unclear.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: neutral
- DIESEL: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | 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 | 2018-04-04 | [Oil ends slightly lower on trade fears - MarketWatch](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10846-oil-ends-slightly-lower-on-trade-fears-marketwatch.md) | +3.2% | +6.0% |
| 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% |
| 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% |
| DIESEL | 2018-04-04 | [Oil ends slightly lower on trade fears - MarketWatch](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10846-oil-ends-slightly-lower-on-trade-fears-marketwatch.md) | +3.6% | +5.8% |
| DIESEL | 2020-07-07 | [Diesel arbitrage flows shift. Is this the new normal? - Vortexa](https://feedsoft.ai/events/52305-diesel-arbitrage-flows-shift-is-this-the-new-normal-vortexa.md) | -2.1% | -0.6% |
| DIESEL | 2017-06-28 | [Traders send most Mideast, US diesel to Europe - Gulf Times](https://feedsoft.ai/events/70700-traders-send-most-mideast-us-diesel-to-europe-gulf-times.md) | +4.9% | +13.5% |

## Sources

- mansfield.energy: https://mansfield.energy/2019/05/20/when-is-a-trade-war-not-a-trade-war/

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