Oil prices recover from multi-year low but Brent remains below $70

LONDON, Mar 06 (Reuters): Oil prices were steady on Thursday, recovering slightly from a multi-year low, though Brent was still below $70 under pressure from trade tariffs between the US, Canada, Mexico and China and OPEC+ plans to raise output.

Those factors and a larger than expected build in US crude inventories had sent Brent as low as $68.33 on Wednesday, its weakest since December 2021.

Brent futures were up 28 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $69.58 a barrel by 0957 GMT on Thursday while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 32 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $66.63.

"The US President's intention seems to be for a lower oil price," said John Evans at oil broker PVM, adding that questions remain around whether crude is being oversold.

Prices had fallen after the US enacted tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, including energy imports, at the same time major producers decided to raise output quotas for the first time since 2022. Oil recovered and stabilised somewhat after the US said it will make automakers exempt from the 25 per cent tariffs. A source familiar with the discussions said that US President Donald Trump could eliminate the 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy imports, such as crude oil and gasoline, that comply with existing trade agreements.