WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices fell sharply on Friday and headed for their first monthly decline since November as heightened concerns over a potential global trade war overshadowed supply concerns.
Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 0.9 percent at $72.90 in European trade while WTI crude futures fell 1.1 percent to $69.61.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said his proposed 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods will take effect on March 4 along with an extra 10 percent duty on Chinese imports over the fentanyl opioid crisis.
China vowed to take 'all necessary countermeasures and defend its legitimate rights and interests', intensifying a brewing trade war between the world's two largest economies.
It is feared that the U.S. trade war may hurt global growth, worsen inflation, possibly spark recessions in some countries and impact the demand for commodities such as crude oil in the global market.
Amid much uncertainty about the demand outlook, a Reuters report said that OPEC+ is debating whether to raise oil output in April as planned or freeze it.
Traders also await the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE price index, later in the day for additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory in 2025.
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