WTI attracts some sellers to near $66.50 on tariff uncertainty

• WTI remains on the defensive around $66.45 in Monday's early European session.
• Trump's tariff threats continue to undermine the WTI price. 
• Softer Chinese CPI inflation contributes to the WTI's downside. 

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $66.45 during the early European session on Monday. The WTI price remains under selling pressure amid concern about the impact of US import tariffs on global economic growth and the risk-off mood. 

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week exempting goods from both Canada and Mexico under a North American trade agreement, known as USMCA, while raising taxes on Chinese goods. China retaliated against the US and Canada with tariffs on agricultural products, per Reuters. The tariffs were announced by the Commerce Ministry and scheduled to take effect on March 20. Tariff uncertainty under the Trump administration continues to undermine the WTI price in the near term. 

Concerns about US growth also weigh on the WTI price. The US February Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data came in weaker than expected, suggesting that the Federal Reserve (Fed) remained on track to cut interest rates multiple times this year. Traders pushed their bets on a start to Fed rate cuts to June, from May before the report, but still expect a total of three cuts in 2025.

Weak economic data from China contributes to the WTI's downside as China is the top consumer of oil in the world. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Sunday showed that China's CPI in February missed expectations and fell at the sharpest pace since January 2024. The CPI fell 0.7% in February from a year earlier, reversing January's 0.5% increase.