Trump's oil price demand drives ASX energy selloff
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The news: Oil and gas producers weighed on the ASX energy sector after US President Donald Trump pressured the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower oil prices in a bid to drive up crude production.
The numbers: Woodside Energy (-1.96%), Ampol (-1.38%), Beach Energy (-1.15%), Santos (-0.63%) and Karoon Energy (-0.18%) were all trading lower by 2:31pm AEDT.
Energy, down 1.4%, was the only sector in red as the ASX 200 index gained 0.4%.
Brent crude was last down 0.1% at USD78.21 ($123.94), while West Texas Intermediate also fell 0.1% to USD74.54.
The context: During a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump said he would demand OPEC reduces the cost of crude barrels. He also said he would ask the group's de facto leader Saudi Arabia to increase as US investment package from USD600 billion to USD1 trillion.
Uncertainty over Trump's actions weighed on crude futures, though low US crude inventories limited the decline.
The source: Reuters
