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A surprise increase in U.S. crude stockpiles also kept oil prices under pressure.

“Investors have been concerned about the recent rise in stockpiles in the U.S.,” ANZ bank said in a note.

“Demand expectations for 2019 have so far been unrealistic,” said Mark Maclean, managing director at Commodities Trading Corp. in London, which advises on hedging strategies. “China has slowed faster than people expected and the trade war is still having a significant impact, the EU will not be a pocket for demand growth this year and the U.S. is also problematic.”

Oil isn’t alone in showing weakness. While stocks have so far shown resilience in the face of the trade war, other parts of the global financial market betray investor fears. Government bonds have been on a tear, with the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries falling more than a percentage point since a November peak as traders seek out safer assets.

Other established havens have enjoyed similar demand, and gold touched the highest since April 2018 last week while the Japanese yen is near the strongest this year.

Concerns about oil demand are also filtering through to policy-makers in producing nations. This week both Saudi Arabia and Russia addressed concerns that weaker consumption has the potential to send crude prices below US$40 a barrel if OPEC and its allies don’t persevere with output cuts. West Texas Intermediate traded at around US$52 on Wednesday, having slumped into a bear market last week.