New York (EFE).- The price of Texas intermediate oil (WTI) opened this Wednesday with a drop of 2.89%, to $69.91 per barrel, a few hours after Republican Donald Trump proclaimed himself as the future 47th president of the United States and thus consummate his return to the White House.
WTI operators, which lost $2.08 at the start compared to Tuesday’s close, are analyzing how a new Trump mandate could influence the market due to the imposition of higher tariffs against powers such as China – which is already experiencing a weakening in its demand for crude oil – or the maintenance of high interest rates.
“A Trump presidency brings a bearish turn (…) Tariffs would be negative for economic growth and oil demand,” analyst Giovanni Staunovo of UBS said today.
Change in oil demand under Trump
In addition, the dollar registered its biggest rise in a year after Trump’s victory and commodities, in general, fell on the prospect that a stronger dollar could weaken their appeal in global markets.
Supporters of Donald Trump celebrate his victory in the United States elections. EFE/Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich
“Overnight there were widespread losses across the commodities sector,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank.
However, Trump could renew sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, removing barrels from the market, which would have an upward effect on WTI, Staunovo noted.
US foreign policy is emerging as “a potential factor for oil markets in the short term,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar told CNBC.
Possible rate cut
Elsewhere, investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s two-day monetary policy meeting today and tomorrow. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, traders rate the possibility of a rate cut at the end of the central bank meeting at 98%.
Likewise, the meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China is taking place until Friday, where it is expected to approve additional stimuli to reverse the slowdown in the economy.
In other markets, natural gas contracts for delivery in December rose to $2.71 per thousand cubic feet, and gasoline contracts for that same period fell to $1.99 per gallon.
