Goldman: Trump Wants Oil Prices in the $40-50 Range

U.S. President Donald Trump likes crude oil prices in the range of $40 to $50 per barrel, Goldman Sachs analysts have said, following an analysis of his social media posts on the topic.

The president’s “inferred preference for WTI appears to be around $40 to $50 a barrel, where his propensity to post about oil prices bottoms,” the team wrote, also noting that Trump “has always been focused on oil and on US energy dominance, having posted nearly 900 times,” on the topic, Bloomberg reported, citing parts of the Goldman report.

Crude oil is currently trading at over $66 per barrel of Brent crude and some $63 per barrel of West Texas Intermediate following news of progress on the trade talks between the U.S. and China that could see a quicker instead of slower end to the tariff hysteria that has gripped market since April.

The U.S. president “tends to call for lower prices (or celebrate falling prices) when WTI is greater than $50,” the Goldman analysts also wrote in their report, adding that “In contrast, President Trump has called for higher prices when prices are very low (WTI less than $30) often in the context of supporting US production.”

The dominant opinion at the moment is that even $50 is too low for U.S. shale drillers to keep drilling, let alone boost that drilling. This has prompted some commentators to suggest that Trump’s quest for lower prices at the pump had put him on a sort of a collision course with his oil industry supporters and donors.

Oil prices are currently trading at the highest in two weeks, after the U.S. and China struck an agreement for a 90-day trade ceasefire and a significant reduction in mutual tariffs, which brightened the outlook for oil demand. On the flip side, traders anticipate the EIA to report a significant build in crude oil inventories after the API estimated one, at 4.3 million barrels, on Tuesday.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com