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Tariff threats on Venezuelan oil buyers remain supportive

of

prices

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Markets mixed on impact of Trump auto tariffs

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Prices seen unlikely to return to early 2025 highs, some

analysts say

(Updates prices, adds analyst quotes)

By Katya Golubkova and Trixie Yap

March 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Thursday

as markets weighed the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's

auto tariffs at a time when concerns swirled about global supply

due to U.S. tariff threats on buyers of Venezuelan oil and

sanctions on Iran's oil clients.

Brent crude futures fell 22 cents, or 0.3%, to

$73.57 a barrel by 0733 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude

futures slipped 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $69.42. Both

benchmarks were initially up in early Asian trade.

On Wednesday, oil prices rose by around 1% on government

data showing U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories fell last week,

and on the U.S. threat of tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan

crude.

"The recent (price) uptrend seems to be factoring in the

noise around tariffs for buyers of Venezuelan oil. We have

maintained that Trump's policies on Iran and Venezuela present

the biggest upside risk for oil prices, so that is kind of

partially playing out currently," said DBS Bank's energy sector

team lead Suvro Sarkar.

India's Reliance Industries, operator of the

world's biggest refining complex, will halt Venezuelan oil

imports following the tariff announcement, sources said on

Wednesday.

Sarkar said, however, DBS does not see prices returning to

the higher levels seen in early 2025 as demand concerns stemming

from "U.S. policy uncertainty and tariff wars will come back to

haunt the market at some point again".

Concerns about an OPEC+ supply hike in May may weigh on the

market slightly, some analysts said.

From a technical analysis standpoint, the key price

resistance to watch on WTI will be between $73.50 and $74.00 per

barrel, and the 200-day moving average, where the bullish

pressure may pause given that OPEC+ is still looking to hike

output in May, said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong.

China's Purchasing Managers' Index data is likely to take

center stage to exert some influence on oil prices in the next

week, he added.

Traders and investors were also assessing the impact on oil

demand from Trump's latest announcement of a 25% tariff on

imported cars and light trucks from next week. The view was that

it could drive auto prices up, potentially impacting demand for

oil, but also slow down the switch to greener cars.

"The news around Trump's tariffs on autos may actually turn

out to be a net positive for crude oil because the rise in new

car prices from tariffs will mean it slows down the switch to

newer, more fuel-efficient models," said Tony Sycamore, a market

analyst at IG.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova in Tokyo and Trixie Yap in

Singapore; Editing by Sonali Paul and Muralikumar Anantharaman)