Oil futures ended lower Friday, contributing to a loss for the week, though prices held on to a gain for the month as traders awaited a tariff decision by President Donald Trump on crude imports from Canada and Mexico.

Oil prices eased on Friday and closed the week lower as investors awaited 25% tariffs by the United States on Canada and Mexico, expected on Saturday.

Some oil refineries will probably struggle to replace imported crude oil if President Trump imposes 25 percent tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico.

All else equal, this would increase gasoline prices, which in most of the country have averaged $3 per gallon for the past year amid historically low levels of petroleum inventories (see chart). But Trump wants lower gasoline prices, which is why if the oil tariffs come at all, they will likely start slowly.

If the US imposes import taxes as the president has threatened, its neighbour is mulling a range of targeted responses.

Trump also said he was still considering new tariffs on Chinese goods, citing its part in the fentanyl trade. He has threatened a 10% duty on all Chinese goods, after imposing pun