Oil Set for Weekly Loss With Focus on US-China Trade Uncertainty
Oil headed for a weekly decline as investors weighed conflicting messages around trade between the US and China, adding uncertainty to global markets grappling with the fallout from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
West Texas Intermediate was little changed below $63 a barrel on Friday, down almost 3% this week. Brent closed above $66. The US president said on Thursday that his administration was talking with China on trade, despite Beijing earlier denying the existence of negotiations on a deal.
Oil has dropped sharply this month on concerns that US tariffs and retaliatory measures from its biggest trading partners including China will cripple economic activity and throttle energy demand. OPEC+ has added to the bearish headwinds by ramping up idled production, stoking fears of oversupply.
Still, some metrics are pointing to near-term strength in the oil market. The prompt spreads for global benchmark Brent and WTI have widened this month in a bullish backwardation structure, signaling tight supply.
WTI for June delivery was steady at $62.82 a barrel at 7:39 a.m. in Singapore.
Brent for June settlement closed 0.7% higher at $66.55 a barrel on Thursday.
Source: Bloomberg
