RoydadNaft – Oil prices rose slightly in Asian trade on Friday, but were on track for a third straight week of losses, hurt by US President Donald Trump’s renewed trade war against China and threats to raise tariffs on other countries.

Brent oil increased by 32 cents to 74 dollars and 61 cents per barrel, but it was supposed to decrease by 2.8 percent this week. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 24 cents to $70.85 a barrel, down about 2.3 percent on a weekly basis.

Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG said: “Oil prices experienced some stability this morning after a volatile session overnight as traders reacted to news of US sanctions on Iran’s crude oil exports to China.»

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Thursday that it will impose new sanctions on several individuals and tankers that help ship millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil to China each year, in a further step to increase pressure on Tehran.

“However, (today’s) oil gains are limited and reflect ongoing concerns about supply and demand headwinds, including the potential for OPEC and US production increases, as well as tariff risks affecting global oil demand,” IG’s Yeap added.

Trump had announced a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports as part of a broader plan to improve the U.S. trade balance, but suspended plans to impose steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada.”Downward pressure comes from news flows around tariffs and worries about a potential trade war are fueling fears of weakening oil demand,” BMI analysts said in a note on Friday.

“This overshadows the President’s executive order on February 4, which re-imposes its maximum pressure campaign on Iran, including a pledge to reduce the country’s oil exports from the current 1.5 million barrels per day,” BMI analysts said.

Oil prices fell on Thursday after Trump reiterated his promise to increase US oil production, unnerving traders a day after the country reported a much bigger than expected jump in crude stockpiles.

Benchmarks were also pressured by rising U.S. crude inventories, which rose sharply last week as demand eased due to ongoing refinery overhauls