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• WTI price posts modest gains to around $72.85 in Friday’s early Asian session.
• Trump plans to impose tariffs of 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods on Saturday. 
• Investors will closely monitor the OPEC+ ministerial meeting on Monday.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $72.85 during the early Asian session on Friday. The WTI price edges higher as traders assess the impact of threatened US tariffs on Canadian and Mexican crude imports that could take effect on Saturday. 

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff as early as Saturday on imports from Canada and Mexico, but he has not yet decided whether to include oil imports in the measure. The White House said late Wednesday that both countries can avoid this if they act swiftly to close their borders to fentanyl.

Oil traders will closely monitor the outcome of the meeting by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia (OPEC+), scheduled for next Monday. Trump reiterated his call for OPEC and Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices, saying that a decline in crude prices would end the conflict in Ukraine. 

On the other hand, crude oil prices might be bolstered by tougher US sanctions on Russia's oil industry. The measures targeted Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftgas, which exported around 970,000 bpd of Russian crude during the first 10 months of 2024. A decline in Russian crude oil exports is supportive of crude oil prices. 

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