Crude falls further on trade war fears

Crude oil futures fell Tuesday, adding to steep losses on fears that President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs will trigger a full-blown, global trade war.

U.S. crude oil was down 73 cents, or 1.2%, to $59.97 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent fell $1, or 1.56%, to $63.21 per barrel.

The U.S. benchmark rose much as 1.7% earlier in the session, but pulled back as Trump’s China tariffs loom over the market. Prices are down more than 15% since last Wednesday when Trump announced the new round of import taxes.

The oil market faces a “toxic cocktail” of recession fears due to Trump’s tariffs and the decision by OPEC+ to bring more barrels back to the market, said Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

“For now people are waiting to see if there’s a potential off ramp to this trade dispute,” Croft told ‘s “Squawk on the Street.”

The U.S. tariff rate on China is set to skyrocket to 104% at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to the White House. Beijing has shown no signs of backing down, vowing to “fight to the end.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday told that China was playing a losing hand.

“I think it was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation, because they’re playing with a pair of twos,” Bessent said during an interview on ‘s “Squawk Box.” “What do we lose by the Chinese raising tariffs on us? We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us, so that is a losing hand for them.”