Apr 14/25: Oil Prices Inch Higher In Cautious Trade

Oil prices traded higher on Monday, with a weaker dollar and geopolitical tensions offering some support. There was some cheer as Chinese data showed a sharp rebound in crude imports in March.

China’s crude oil imports in March were up nearly 5 percent from a year earlier, boosted by Iranian oil and a rebound in Russian deliveries.

Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.6 percent to $65.15 a barrel in European trade while WTI crude futures were up 0.7 percent at $61.93.

The dollar remained weak as investors grappled with the latest tariff headlines.

Traders looked past a reprieve on the imposition of certain electronic tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed his exemption for the technology sector.

On the geopolitical front, at least 34 people were killed and another 117, including 11 children, were injured by a Russian missile attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, Ukraine’s state emergency service said.

This was the deadliest attack on Ukraine this year and Trump called it a “horrible thing” and a “mistake”.

Elsewhere, the death toll from Israel’s attacks on Gaza on Sunday rose to 37 as condemnation grows over attack on al-Ahli Hospital.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to visit Moscow this week to discuss recent nuclear negotiations with the United States held in Oman.