
Brent crude futures were down 49 cents, or 0.6% to $73.54
Oil prices drop on trade war worries but set for 3rd weekly gain

Oil prices eased on Friday as traders worried that Washington's tariff wars could spark a global recession, but for the week, prices were headed for their third weekly gain as the U.S. ramped up pressure on Venezuela and Iran.
Brent crude futures were down 49 cents, or 0.6% to $73.54 a barrel by 1:33 pm EDT (1733 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 61 cents, or 0.9%, to $69.31 a barrel.
Reciprocal tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to announce reciprocal tariffs targeting a wide range of imports, effective on April 2. The trade war has investors worried about a potential recession, JPMorgan analysts told clients on Friday.
"Concerns about a trade war, coupled with elevated U.S. policy uncertainty, are weighing heavily on sentiment," they said.
Although recession risk has elevated, high-frequency oil demand indicators have held up relatively well for now, JPMorgan noted.
Data from the Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels to 433.6 million barrels in the week ended March 21, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 956,000-barrel draw.
On a weekly basis, Brent futures have gained nearly 2%, while WTI has risen about 1.5%. Since both benchmarks hit multi-month lows in early March Brent is up more than 7%, and WTI over 6%.
"The key theme this week was the Trump administration ratcheting up the pressure on the Maduro regime in Venezuela," Barclays analyst Amarpreet Singh said.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced new 25% tariffs on potential buyers of Venezuelan crude, days after U.S. sanctions targeting China's imports from Iran.
The measures could exacerbate an anticipated 200,000 barrel-per-day decline in Venezuelan crude oil output this year, Singh said.
It has compounded uncertainty for buyers and saw trade of Venezuelan oil to top buyer China stall. Elsewhere, sources said India's Reliance Industries, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, will halt Venezuelan oil imports.
Oil markets are readjusting global supply expectations as a result of U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, with Trump having promised to drive the latter's oil exports to zero. The U.S. has issued four rounds of sanctions targeting Iran's oil sales since Trump's return to the White House.
The second quarter should "be tighter than originally thought and if there are reductions in Venezuelan or Iranian crude oil barrels on the market this would certainly be a bullish development," StoneX analyst Alex Hodes said.
The OPEC+ group is set to begin its program of monthly increases to oil production in April. The group, which comprises OPEC and allies led by Russia, will likely continue to raise oil output in May, Reuters reported on Monday.