Oil Prices Fall Sharply in April, Marking Biggest Monthly Drop Since 2021
The global oil market has faced sharp swings due to geopolitical tensions, economic shifts, and changing energy demand. After the COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions, new challenges like trade disputes and policy changes continue to shape crude oil prices and market dynamics.
Oil prices continued their downward trend on Wednesday and posted their biggest monthly decline by the end of April since late 2021. Brent crude futures went down by 49 cents, or 0.8%, to $63.76 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid 40 cents, or 0.7%, to $60.02 a barrel. Both Brent and WTI have fallen around 15% and 16%, respectively, over the month. The slide is a product of both supply and demand issues in the global oil market.
The price of oil fell after increasing signs of renewed trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies. On April 2, US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on all US imports, triggering China's rapid response. The moves have escalated worries that the world economy is slowing down, which could drag down oil demand.
The trade tensions have reverberated through economic measures. China's factory activity shrank at the quickest pace in 16 months in April, in a sign that industrial demand was crumbling. US consumer confidence has plummeted to a near 5-year low, highlighting economic pressure.
The investors remained skeptical despite some measures taken by the Trump administration to soften the impact of auto tariffs. Oil prices were also driven down by increased supply fears as sources close to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) reported that several members may support another round of production increases in June.
Adding to the supply-side concerns, American crude oil inventories increased by 3.8 million barrels in the most recent week, the American Petroleum Institute said. Analysts expect official data to report a smaller increase of around 400,000 barrels, though the overall trend of increasing inventories points to weak domestic demand.
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Straits Times
13 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump has options to punish Musk even if his federal contracts continue
The relationship between US President Donald Trump and Mr Elon Musk exploded into warfare on June 5. PHOTO: HAIYUN JIANG/NYTIMES WASHINGTON - After the relationship between President Donald Trump and Mr Elon Musk exploded into warfare on June 5, Mr Trump suggested that he might eliminate the tech titan's federal contracts. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it,' Mr Trump posted on his social media platform. That's not as easy as Mr Trump implies. The Pentagon and Nasa remain intensely reliant on SpaceX, Mr Musk's rocket launch and space-based communications company, to get to orbit and move government data across the world. But there are options available to the president that could make Mr Musk's relationship with the federal government much more difficult than it has been so far in Mr Trump's second administration. Mr Trump's most accessible weapon to punish Mr Musk is the ability to instruct federal regulators to intensify oversight of his business operations, reversing a slowdown in regulatory actions that benefited Mr Musk's businesses after Mr Trump was elected. 'In an administration that has defined itself by reducing regulation and oversight, it would not be difficult to selectively ramp up oversight again,' said Mr Steven Schooner, a former White House contracts lawyer who is now a professor at George Washington University. With a decree, Mr Trump could suspend Mr Musk's security clearance, a step that the Trump administration has also taken against some of its Biden-era critics. That move would make it harder for Mr Musk to continue in his role as CEO of SpaceX, given its billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts. Pentagon investigators had been examining whether Mr Musk has violated federal security clearance requirements for disclosing contacts with foreign government leaders, The New York Times reported in 2024. The Trump administration could also slow down new contracts going to SpaceX in the years to come, perhaps by looking for ways to drive more work to its rivals, such as Mr Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin or the Boeing and Lockheed partnership called United Launch Alliance. But billions of dollars in financial commitments have been made to SpaceX for launches that will be spread out over the rest of Mr Trump's term to deliver astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station and even the moon, as well as to send military and spy satellites into orbit. Moreover, the services SpaceX provides are vital to some of Mr Trump's top agenda items, such as building a new space-based missile defence programme that the Pentagon is calling Golden Dome. That programme will require dozens of launches to orbit as well as space-based observation and data transmission systems to track and help intercept missile threats. SpaceX is by far the dominant global player in these launches. While Blue Origin and other companies like Rocket Lab and Relativity Space are building or have recently built their own new rockets, none has the kind of launch record and reliability that SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has. Overall, the federal government has awarded nearly US$18 billion (S$23 billion) in contracts to SpaceX over the past decade, including US$3.8 billion just in the 2024 fiscal year, according to a tally by the Times. That makes SpaceX one of the largest federal contractors, with most of that money coming from Nasa and the Pentagon. Terminating SpaceX's contracts 'would end the US capability to launch astronauts to orbit for the foreseeable future,' said Ms Laura Seward Forczyk, founder of the space consulting firm Astralytical. It would also significantly delay the US effort to return humans to the moon, she said. Ms Bethany Stevens, Nasa's press secretary, hinted on Mr Musk's X social platform late on June 5 afternoon – as the verbal war between Mr Musk and Mr Trump continued to play out – that the deals with SpaceX are in fact not going to be cancelled anytime soon. 'Nasa will continue to execute upon the President's vision for the future of space,' Ms Stevens said, without mentioning Musk or SpaceX by name. 'We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President's objectives in space are met.' But Mr Trump has more flexibility when it comes to the alphabet soup of federal agencies that regulate SpaceX as well as Tesla, Mr Musk's car company; X; the Boring Co., his underground drilling outfit; and Neuralink, his computer chip brain implant startup. 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Several of those inquiries were put on hold. In other instances, fines that Mr Musk's companies had been assessed were being reconsidered, including one that the FAA announced in September for what it said were safety violations during launches in Florida. Mr Trump's top transportation official vowed at his confirmation hearing to 'review' that fine. As of last week, it had still not been paid, an agency official said. The Fish and Wildlife Service also has slowed down its oversight of SpaceX's Texas launch site, where the company for years has been accused of damaging adjacent state park and National Wildlife Refuge lands. That enforcement effort could be turned back on almost overnight if Mr Trump ordered it. But no other US company can currently do what Nasa needs. Boeing, the other company Nasa hired to take astronauts to orbit, has yet to complete fixes for its Starliner capsule after a test mission left two Nasa astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, in orbit for nine months before they finally returned to Earth in a SpaceX Crew Dragon. Aerospace company Northrop Grumman also has a contract to take cargo to the space station with its Cygnus spacecraft, but the most recent Cygnus had to be scrapped after it was damaged during shipment to Florida for launch. Mr Musk appears to recognise this leverage he has over Nasa. He initially threatened on June 5, as the war of words with Mr Trump played out, to stop future flights to deliver astronauts to the space station, but he appeared to walk back that threat later in the day. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
AsiaOne
3 hours ago
- AsiaOne
South Korea's Lee Jae-myung, Trump agree to work towards swift tariff deal, Lee's office says, World News
SEOUL/WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump and South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung agreed to work toward a swift tariff deal in their first phone call since Lee was elected this week, Lee's office said on Friday (June 6). Trump has imposed tariffs on South Korea, a long time ally with which it has a bilateral free trade deal, and pressed it to pay more for the 28,500 US troops stationed there. Separately, Trump allies have aired concerns about Lee's more conciliatory stance towards China, Washington's main geopolitical rival. Lee, a liberal, was elected on June 3 after former conservative leader, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached and ousted. The future of South Korea's export-oriented economy may hinge on what kind of deal Lee can strike with Trump, with all of his country's key sectors from chips to autos and shipbuilding heavily exposed to global trade. His term began on Wednesday. "The two presidents agreed to make an effort to reach a satisfactory agreement on tariff consultations as soon as possible that both countries can be satisfied with," Lee's office said in a statement. "To this end, they decided to encourage working-level negotiations to yield tangible results." Trump invited Lee to a summit in the US and they plan to meet soon, according to a White House official. Analysts say the first opportunity for the two to meet could be at a G7 summit in Canada in mid-June. Lee's office said the two leaders also discussed the assassination attempts they both experienced last year as well as their enthusiasm for golf. Lee underwent surgery after he was stabbed in the neck by a man in January last year, while Trump was wounded in the ear by a bullet fired by a would-be assassin in July. South Korea, a major US ally and one of the first countries after Japan to engage with Washington on trade talks, agreed in late April to craft a "July package" scrapping levies before the 90-day pause on Trump's reciprocal tariffs is lifted, but progress was disrupted by the change of governments in Seoul. Lee said on the eve of the elections that "the most pressing matter is trade negotiations with the United States." Lee's camp has said, however, that they intend to seek more time to negotiate on trade with Trump. While reiterating the importance of the US-South Korea alliance, Lee has also expressed more conciliatory plans for ties with China and North Korea, singling out the importance of China as a major trading partner while indicating a reluctance to take a firm stance on security tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Political analysts say that while Trump and Lee may share a desire to try to re-engage with North Korea, Lee's stance on China could cause friction with the US A White House official said this week that South Korea's election was fair, but expressed concern about Chinese interference in what analysts said may have been a cautionary message to Lee. Speaking in Singapore last week, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said many countries were tempted by the idea of seeking economic co-operation with China and defence co-operation with the United States, and warned that such entanglement complicated defence co-operation. [[nid:718821]]
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
As US tightens visa rules, Chinese students may turn to Malaysia
(From left) Chinese students Mr Li, Mr Pei and Ms Lou at the USM campus in Penang. PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK As US tightens visa rules, Chinese students may turn to Malaysia GEORGE TOWN, Penang - President Donald Trump's order to tighten visa rules in the United States for students from China may benefit universities in Malaysia. Mr Pei Qi, a 42-year-old English teacher from China who is pursuing a postgraduate degree at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said he has noticed more of his students in China considering Malaysia over the US. 'Many of my students who initially planned to go to the US are now considering Malaysia for further studies. 'One of them gave up on her US application because of visa delays and uncertainty, and then applied to Monash University Malaysia and USM,' he said. Mr Pei said that the student and her mother visited Penang and were drawn to the island's safety, lifestyle and international feel. 'They were worried about whether they could get into a public university here, but the affordability and global rankings of Malaysian institutions have prompted them to apply,' he said, adding that Malaysia's strong ties with China is an important factor. 'Malaysia takes education seriously. I see effort going into improving curriculum, research and global rankings,' Mr Pei added. He recalled seeing China's content creators on Douyin (China's version of TikTok) mentioning that Malaysia has become the seventh most popular study abroad destination for students from China. Mr Pei said the United States' new policy against students from China had affected the global standing of the US. 'I see real, long-term damage to America's reputation as the world's leader,' he said. 'The global landscape has changed. The US is no longer the only option for high-quality, English-medium education. 'It's sad to lose access to the US, but it's not the end of the road.' First-year Bachelor of Arts in English student Lou Xiaoxiao, 20, said studying in the US is still a dream for many from her homeland. 'It's still the top choice for a lot of us because of its academic resources and reputation. At the moment, I can say Malaysia is more of an option,' she said. Ms Lou added that visa issues and parents' concerns about global tensions do play a role and more families are looking at safety and cost when making decisions. She feels that China's families are prioritising 'cost-effectiveness' and 'a sense of security' in their decision-making regarding their children's studies overseas. Another student, Mr Li Hehe, 25, said despite the visa crackdown, he felt most Chinese families still hope to send their children to the US, believing strongly in the value of an American education. 'I've worked in the study abroad consultancy field. Students and parents who choose the US believe in it deeply. 'Even though the US might be the most expensive option, the choice of the US often reflects a serious commitment,' said Mr Li, who is in his final year of a Bachelor's degree in urban and regional planning at USM. On May 28, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that some Chinese students would have their visas revoked, especially those studying in sensitive fields or linked to the Chinese Communist Party. China is the second-largest source of international students in the US after India. More than 270,000 students from China enrolled in American institutions in the 2023–2024 academic year, about a quarter of all international students there. USM lecturer Dr Kamaruzzaman Abdul Manan, from the School of Communication, said Malaysian universities should seize the opportunity. 'China sends more students abroad than any other country. Even a 10% to 15% drop in those heading to the US means thousands will look for other destinations,' he said. He added that Malaysia's strong education system and position in Asean made it an ideal choice for students from China. 'Having more students from China can raise a university's profile, attract funding and increase global partnerships,' he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
