U.S. prices settled lower Tuesday as U.S.-China trade woes weighed on energy-demand prospects. However, Middle East tensions provided some support for the global benchmark.
“The U.S.-China trade war…has already surprised markets by intensifying further than anyone initially expected, and because of that, near term risks are skewed to the downside right now,” said Richey.
Underlining the tensions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is seeking expanded executive powers to better deal with “economic war” triggered by the Trump’s administration’s renewal and escalation of sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic, the state-run IRNA news agency reported Tuesday, the Associated Press said.
Meanwhile, a select committee of members and non-OPEC members, such as Russia, met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday to explore production options that will be decided at a June summit in Vienna. Last December, the group agreed to cut output by a collective 1.2 million barrels a day, a move that has driven gains for oil prices this year, though the agreement expires at the end of June.
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