Oil prices slip again as specter of trade war, demand concerns haunts market

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices dropped on Tuesday for a second straight session as the cons of a slowing global demand outlook outweighed the pros of OPEC’s agreement with associated producers at the end of last week to deepen crude output cuts in early 2020.

FILE PHOTO: Oil pump jacks work at sunset near Midland, Texas, U.S., August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jessica Lutz

Brent futures were down 11 cents, or 0.2%, at $64.14 per barrel by 0204 GMT while West Texas Intermediate oil futures were down 7 cents, or 0.1% to $58.95 a barrel. The benchmarks fell 0.2% and 0.3% respectively on Monday.

“The euphoria (on output cuts) was short lived, with an unexpected fall in exports from China highlighting the impact of the trade conflict,” said ANZ Bank in a note on Tuesday.

Data released on Sunday showed exports from China in November fell 1.1% from a year earlier, confounding expectations for a 1% rise in a Reuters poll.

vCard QR Code

vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.

The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.

That weakness came amid with fresh fronts in the trade war between Washington and Beijing that has stymied global economic growth coming up fast: Washington’s next round of tariffs against some $156 billion Chinese goods are scheduled to take effect on Dec. 15.

U.S. President Donald Trump does not want to implement the next round of tariffs, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Monday – but he wants “movement” from China to avoid them.

“With the swathe of new tariffs due to kick in on 15 December, the market is watching negotiations closely,” said ANZ.

Analysts said that, though overshadowed for now, the move by ‘OPEC+’ – the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and associated producers like Russia – to deepen output cuts from 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.7 million bpd would remain a mid-term support factor.

“While risks remain into year-end on U.S.-China trade talks, the OPEC decision removes a fundamental uncertainty,” said Stephen Innes, market strategist at AxiTrader.

“So, prices aren’t about to fall off a cliff anytime soon if OPEC has a say in the matter.”

Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
source: reuters.com


🕐 Top News in the Last Hour By Importance Score

# Title 📊 i-Score
1 Pope Francis revealed why 'death is not the end' just two months before he passed away: Vatican releases pontiff's thoughts on the afterlife as he lies in state 🟢 85 / 100
2 Tim Walz employee who allegedly caused over $20K in damages to Teslas let off by woke Minnesota DA — as cops slam deal 🔴 75 / 100
3 Tennessee Titans make final decision on trading the No 1 pick before Thursday's NFL Draft 🔴 71 / 100
4 Crowdsourced AI benchmarks have serious flaws, some experts say 🔴 65 / 100
5 Warning issued to anyone who eats burnt toast 🔴 65 / 100
6 Winfrey's new book club pick is Tina Knowles' memoir, 'Matriarch' 🔵 45 / 100
7 Who won the third leaders’ debate? Five takeaways from Anthony Albanese v Peter Dutton 🔵 45 / 100
8 Hailey Okula’s Husband Shares Devastating Message After Her Death 🔵 45 / 100
9 Subtle warning signs of deforming 'medieval disease' that's hit Josie Gibson and is on the rise in the UK 🔵 45 / 100
10 Netflix announces fate of beloved show after three seasons – and fans won't be happy 🔵 35 / 100

View More Top News ➡️