Today's fuel prices (May 26): Slightly increased.

Global oil prices extended their gains from the last trading session of last week. Meanwhile, domestic fuel prices are likely to fall.

World oil prices

According to Oilprice and Reuters, both Brent and WTI crude oil rose by about 50 cents in early trading on May 26, extending the gains from the last trading session of the previous week.

Last week, with Brent crude falling 63 cents and WTI crude falling 96 cents, oil prices reversed course and ended a two-week winning streak.

Both Brent and WTI crude oil rose by about 50 cents in early trading on May 26. (Illustration: Reuters)

Several factors contributed to the sharp drop in oil prices. First, Moody's downgraded the US national credit rating from the highest level, Aaa, to Aa1. Next came comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that President Donald Trump would impose high tariffs on trading partners who did not negotiate in good faith.

Uncertainty surrounding nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran, peace talks between Russia and Ukraine; a surprise increase in US inventories of gasoline, oil, and refined products; and concerns about oversupply if OPEC+ increases production by 411,000 barrels per day in July... are the main factors driving the slowdown in oil prices.

This week, in addition to developments in trade and geopolitics , traders will also be watching for signals from the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and core US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data to see if the Federal Reserve is ready for a cycle of interest rate cuts.

Also this week, there will be information related to the monetary policy decision of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and preliminary Q1 2025 GDP figures for the US.

Regarding US President Donald Trump's threat to increase tariffs on European imports to 50% on June 1st, Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, commented that the threat of tariffs is a stark reminder that this trade war is far from over and the US will have to bear the economic consequences.