As the start of a new trading week, WTI crude oil continues to trade bearish over worries that the prolonged trade war between US and China could bring down the demand for oil. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $54.33 per barrel.

WTI crude oil prices fell by over 2% during the previous week as the trade row heated up once again, following Trump’s decision to impose 10% tariffs on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. Since the highs touched in April this year, it has lost over 20% of its value so far.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global oil demand has risen at the slowest pace since the financial crisis over a decade ago. Last Friday, the IEA cut its forecast for global oil demand growth for 2019 to 1.1 million bpd, while it now estimates that global oil demand will grow at 1.3 million bpd in 2020. This news has exerted further downward pressure on crude oil prices.