* Gary Cohn opposed Trump plans for steel, aluminum tariffs
* U.S. weekly crude production rises to record high
* U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.4 mln barrels last week-EIA (Updates to market settle, adds commentary)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, March 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled onWednesday as financial markets slid amid concerns thatWashington's plans for import tariffs could spark a trade war,and after U.S. government data showed an increase in crudeinventories and output.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures for May delivery fell $1.45 tosettle at $64.34 a barrel, a 2.20 percent loss. Brent tradedbetween $63.83 and $65.80 during the session.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures for Aprildelivery fell $1.45 to settle at $61.15 a barrel. It fell 2.3percent on the day, its biggest daily percentage loss since Feb.9, and traded between $60.58 and $62.58.
The resignation of Gary Cohn, economic adviser to U.S.President Donald Trump, who was seen as a bulwark againstprotectionist forces in the government, triggered a drop in WallStreet's three main stock indexes and tempered investor riskappetite. Oil has recently moved in tandem with the equitymarket. resignation came after he lost a fight over Trump'splans for hefty steel and aluminum import tariffs. powers, including the European Union and China, havesaid such tariffs could lead to retaliatory action and trigger aglobal trade war.
"The generalized market anxiety over what could end up beinga global trade war is dragging everything down," said JohnKilduff, partner at investment manager Again Capital in NewYork. "It does not bode well for future economic growth andincreased energy demand."
A further increase in U.S. output also weighed on prices. Weekly data from the U.S. Department of Energy showed weeklyU.S. crude production hit a record high last week of almost 10.4million barrels per day (bpd).
"We had the rig count flatten out a bit and start to riseagain this year from the oil perspective, so you're going tocontinue to see oil production in the U.S. be fairly strong foran extended period of time here," said Rob Thummel, portfoliomanager at energy investment manager Tortoise Capital inLeawood, Kansas.
The EIA said on Tuesday it expects U.S. crude output in thefourth quarter of 2018 to reach an average of 11.17 million bpd,up from the previous forecast a month ago of 11.04 millionbpd. would make it a bigger producer than Russia, now rankedNo. 1. Last year, the United States surpassed Saudi Arabia, thebiggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum ExportingCountries. briefly pared losses on Wednesday after data from theEnergy Information Administration said U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI rose by 2.4 million barrels in the last week,compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 2.7million barrels. stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI fell by 605,000 barrels, EIA said, the 11thstraight week of declines.
While oil stocks typically rise this time of year asrefineries frequently close for maintenance, sustained increasesin U.S. crude inventories has weighed on sentiment.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^GRAPHIC-US crude oil output vs OPEC supply
http://reut.rs/2oWbDdFGRAPHIC-Correlation between crude oil and US equities
http://reut.rs/2oP7WHN
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