Oil Falls After Trump–Xi: What's Going On?
Oil prices weakened after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that yielded progress on several issues, but did not address oil. Brent was below $65 per barrel, while WTI was near $60. Trump said they discussed the war in Ukraine "quite a bit," but "didn't really discuss oil."
Before the summit, the US imposed sanctions on major Russian producers to pressure Moscow, and Trump briefly considered urging Beijing to reduce Russian oil imports. However, this was not on the agenda. In the market, oil prices are still heading for a third straight monthly decline—the longest since the third quarter of last year—due to oversupply sentiment.
The main pressure comes from expectations of increased supply from OPEC+ and other producers, which are feared to cause production to exceed demand. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that a surplus in 2026 could be a record, although Saudi Aramco has sounded a more optimistic tone.
OPEC+ will hold a supply meeting on November 2. According to RBC Capital Markets, the coalition is likely to gradually increase production quotas by around 137,000 barrels per day for December. Westpac assesses Brent's movement as still "volatile," with the trading range returning to $60–$65 and potentially breaking below $60.
At 2:00 p.m. Singapore time, Brent December crude futures fell 0.6% to $64.54 per barrel, while WTI December crude futures weakened 0.5% to $60.17. Market participants are now awaiting the OPEC+ decision and the follow-up US-China talks to determine whether they are sufficient to address concerns about oversupply. (asd)
Source: Bloomberg
