08:59 AM EST, 02/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices weakened for a second session early on Wednesday after a report showed an unexpectedly large rise in U.S. inventories last week and concerns grow that Donald Trump's tariff plans will slow global growth.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for March delivery was last seen down US$0.74 to US$71.96 per barrel, the lowest since Dec.31, while April Brent crude was down US$0.86 to US$75.34.

In its weekly survey, the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported U.S. oil inventories rose by 5.03-million barrels last week, well more than the consensus estimate for a rise of 3.17-mllion barrels, according to Oilprice.com. The Energy Information Administration will release official inventory data later on Wednesday.

Rising inventories and the threat of economic turmoil amid tariff threats from the new Trump Administration have pushed prices to 2025 lows. Trump this week threatened to impose blanket tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, the largest U.S. trading partners, before postponing their imposition for 30 days on Monday. However a 10% tariff on imports from China went into effect, raising more worries of weak growth for the No.1 oil importer.

"From a strong start, the mood among crude oil traders has, in the past few days, shifted back to one of caution, with the focus now squarely on Washington and the increased uncertainty caused by a wave of Trump announcements following his inauguration. Not least among these is the prospect of tariffs threatening to erupt into a global trade war, which may lead to lower growth and, with that, lower demand for energy," Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, wrote.

Higher supply on the way from OPEC+ is also keeping a check on prices. The group on Monday agreed to go ahead with a plan to return 2.2-million barrels per day of production cuts to market, adding 122,000 bpd of supply monthly for 18 months beginning in April.