U.S. and global oil futures declined on Thursday as a hefty rise in last week’s U.S. supplies and uncertainty surrounding tariff disputes helped to weaken the outlook for crude demand, prompting prices to settle at their lowest levels of the year.

Thanks to abundant supply and fairly flat demand, oil prices are forecast to fall — unless tariffs and geopolitics get in the way.

"Despite the 'energy emergency' claims, the US is producing energy in record quantities," JPMorgan Asset Management wrote.

Oil futures on Wednesday marked their lowest settlement prices of the year, after official U.S. data showed a weekly climb of nearly 9 million barrels in U.S. crude inventories and as the U.S.-China trade battle threatened to dent demand.

President Trump’s tariff on Canadian oil is expected to raise prices at the pump for U.S. consumers, if it takes effect as planned after a 30-day delay. Analysts told The Hill that the 10 percent

Tariffs on oil imports mean higher costs for making finished fuels like gasoline, much of which is likely to be passed along to U.S. consumers.

Oil prices edged up on Thursday after Saudi Arabia's state oil company raised its March crude prices sharply, but the gains barely dented the previous day's slide in benchmark Brent crude. Brent crude futures rose 44 cents,

Oil prices edged up on Thursday after Saudi Arabia raised prices for March. However, the previous day’s decline in benchmark Brent prices was the largest in almost three months, and the increase was insignificant in comparison.