Oil prices crumble as Saudi Arabia throws in the towel on restricting supply

Oil prices continued their free fall on Friday as the market absorbed a double whammy of shocks after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs and the Opec+ alliance decided to massively increase crude production.

The price of Brent, the international benchmark, has dropped more than 11 percent in two days, plunging from $74 per barrel at the beginning of this week to about $66 per barrel. The drop has put crude prices at their lowest levels since 2021.

The sell-off shows how Trump’s trade war is already unleashing secondary effects on the Middle East.