Trump calls on Opec to ‘relax and take it easy’, oil prices tumble
US President Donald Trump resumed his attacks on OPEC, saying the global economy is too fragile to handle a price hike and urging the cartel to “relax and take it easy.”
Trump’s war of words with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries punctuated big price swings last year, as he pressured the group to keep the taps open to help consumers. Futures in New York declined by the most in two weeks on Monday.
The president’s intervention follows a price rally of about 23 per cent this year due to production cuts from OPEC and its allies, diminishing fears about the economic impact of the US-China trade war and Washington’s imposition of sanctions on Venezuelan oil shipments. Now pressure from Trump once again puts Saudi Arabia and the rest of OPEC in a bind.
