Oil prices saw a slight uptick in early Asian trade on Friday but remained on track for a third consecutive weekly decline, weighed down by renewed trade tensions between the U.S. and China and potential tariff hikes on other countries by U.S. President Donald Trump.

By 0150 GMT, Brent crude futures had risen 15 cents to $74.44 a barrel but were set to decline 3.2% this week, marking their steepest drop since September 2024. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edged up 9 cents to $71.70 a barrel, showing a 2.7% decrease on a weekly basis. This marks the first time in five months that oil prices have fallen for three consecutive weeks.

“Downside pressure has stemmed from the news flow around tariffs, with concerns over a potential trade war fuelling fears of weakening oil demand,” analysts at BMI noted in a report on Friday.

Over the weekend, Trump announced a 10% tariff on Chinese imports as part of a broader strategy to improve the U.S. trade balance but suspended plans to impose steep tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

“This has eclipsed U.S. President Trump’s February 4 executive order reimposing his maximum pressure campaign on Iran, including a commitment to drive the country’s oil exports down to zero, from above 1.5 million barrels per day currently,” BMI analysts added.

Oil prices settled lower on Thursday after Trump reiterated his commitment to raising U.S. oil production, unsettling traders just a day after the country reported a much larger-than-expected increase in crude stockpiles. The benchmarks were also under pressure from swelling U.S. crude inventories.

Since Trump took office on January 20, global benchmark Brent crude has tumbled more than 8%, while WTI has dropped over 7%.