09.04.202519:35:00UTC+00Crude Oil Recovers From Early Plunge, Closes Sharply Higher On Tariff Pause

Crude oil prices extended their recent nosedive early in the session on Wednesday but showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the day.

After plummeting by as much as $4.46 a barrel or 7.5 percent to a four-year low of $55.12 a barrel, crude for May delivery soared $2.77 or 4.7 percent to $62.35 a barrel.

The rebound by the price of crude oil came after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on new "reciprocal tariffs" on most countries to allow for negotiations.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that tariffs would be brought down to a "universal 10 percent" level during the 90-day pause.

However, the pause will not apply to China, as Trump announced he is raising the tariff on the country to 125 percent due to the "lack of respect" they have shown to the world's markets.

The higher tariffs on China come after retaliated to a previous increase by announcing it will raise its tariffs on U.S. goods to 84 percent from 34 percent just after midnight on Thursday.

The tariff pause on most other countries helped traders shrug off a report from the Energy Information Administration showing U.S. crude oil inventories increased by slightly more than expected in the week ended April 4th.

The report said crude oil inventories climbed by 2.6 million barrels last week after surging by 6.2 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to rise by 2.2 million barrels.

At 442.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain about 5 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.

Meanwhile, the EIA said gasoline inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels last week and are the same as the five-year average for this time of year.

Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also decreased by 3.5 million barrels last week and are about 9 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.