Oil prices falling

The price of May Brent futures on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 09:14 (GMT+4) is $73.4 per barrel, which is $0.23 (0.31%) lower than at the close of the previous trades, Report informs.

On March 22, these contracts fell in price by $0.4, to $73.63 per barrel. The May futures expire at the close of the market on March 31. The more actively traded June contracts are falling in price by $0.26 (0.36%), to $72.5 per barrel.

WTI oil futures for May on electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have fallen in price by this time by $0.3 (0.43%), to $69.06 per barrel. At the end of the previous session, the price of these contracts decreased by $0.56, to $69.36 per barrel.

Oil prices are under pressure from expectations of increased production by OPEC+ countries and concerns about the consequences of import duties imposed by Washington.

The OPEC+ alliance intends to begin a gradual increase in production in April. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that this "will allow the market to be gradually saturated as demand grows."

Meanwhile, mirror duties by the US on goods from other countries are set to come into effect on Wednesday. This prospect has increased investor concerns about a global trade war that could slow economic growth and limit demand for energy.