Trump touts falling oil prices, borrowing costs. Experts say they’re warning signs.

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted a drop in oil prices and borrowing costs as a sign that sweeping new tariffs bode well for the U.S. economy.

Experts who spoke to ABC News largely rejected the notion, saying the trends indicate expectations of an economic slowdown that would diminish energy demand and send money flooding into bonds as safe-haven investments.

A drop in oil prices and borrowing expenses could offset some of the damage caused by a potential downturn, some experts noted, but such relief is unlikely to offset acute economic pain.

“The reason those prices have fallen is not positive,” Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Investment Management, told ABC News. “Oil prices and Treasury yields fell because there are concerns about economic growth going forward.”

Oil prices plummeted about 15% last week as Trump’s tariff announcement roiled global markets and triggered warnings about a possible recession.

Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury yields last week fell below 4% for the first time in nearly six months. The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, or the amount paid to a bondholder annually, helps set interest rates for just about any loan, including credit cards and mortgages.

“Oil prices are down, interest rates are down,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday morning outlining the benefits of his tariff policy.

He repeated the sentiment hours later, boasting of low borrowing costs and predicting the price of a gallon of gasoline would fall to $2.50. The current national average price of a gallon gas is $3.25, according to AAA.

“We have everything down at levels that nobody ever thought possible,” Trump said.

The drop in oil prices and borrowing costs will likely offer some near-term improvements for U.S. consumers, including lower gas prices, experts said.

“Motorists can expect gas prices to begin falling nearly coast-to-coast, with oil now at its lowest level since the early days of the pandemic in 2021,” Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News in a statement.

In the case of oil, prices are dropping as forecasters increase the odds of a possible U.S. recession, which would reduce economic activity and slash demand for oil. If appetite for oil falls, the price will too.

“In addition to falling oil prices, the stock market has dropped sharply, and the risk of a recession has increased – raising the likelihood of reduced global energy and oil demand, which is sending prices lower,” de Haan said.

The recent decline in Treasury yields owes to hotter demand rather than a cooling off, experts said.

The price of a bond moves in the opposite direction as its yield, or the amount of interest accrued by a bondholder. In other words, when bond yields go down, bond prices go up. The decline in yields over recent days has resulted from a surge in demand as investors flee stocks and seek out safe-haven assets.

“Risky assets sold off and safe investments like Treasury bonds saw prices increase as Treasury yields fell,” Pappalardo said.

The Trump administration has largely declined to rule out the possibility of a recession. Speaking at the White House last month, Trump said a "little disturbance" may prove necessary to rejuvenate domestic production and reestablish well-paying manufacturing jobs.

On Tuesday, oil prices and Treasury yields ticked up slightly as the Trump administration signaled negotiations with some countries targeted by tariffs.

“Any good news of decreasing the tariffs is going to cause oil and yields to rally,” Derek Horstmeyer, a finance professor at George Mason University's Costello College of Business, told ABC News. “It improves the economic picture.”

Even after the increases on Tuesday, oil prices and Treasury yields remained well below levels seen last week.

Horstmeyer said the benefits of lower oil prices and borrowing costs may offer consumers a false sense of reassurance.

“Falling oil prices always make people feel good,” Horstmeyer added. “They’re usually seen as bad forward indicators, so it portends what’s to come.”

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