By
BusinessMirror - November 22, 2019
Oil eased after the
biggest increase in more than two weeks as investors monitor developments in
the US-China trade war, while stockpiles shrink at a key American crude storage
hub.
January futures lost
0.3 percent in New York, after rising 3 percent on Wednesday, the biggest
increase since November 1. China’s Vice Premier Liu He said he was “cautiously
optimistic” about reaching an initial trade deal even as President Donald J.
Trump is expected to sign a bill supporting Hong Kong protesters, a move that
could complicate negotiations. US crude inventories at Cushing fell 2.3 million
barrels last week, the most since August.
The on-again, off-again
trade talks between Beijing and Washington have sapped global demand and
weighed on oil prices, and China said the US Senate’s bill supporting the
protesters was a “gross interference in Hong Kong affairs.” Supply concerns
have reappeared after unrest erupted in Iraq and Iran this month—two of the
Middle East’s five biggest producers.
“It looks like the
trade talks may hit a snag due to the US Senate passing a bill supporting Hong
Kong protesters,” said Howie Lee, a Singapore-based economist at
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Attention is gradually moving to the Opec+
meeting in December, and turmoil in some member countries may weigh on the
outcome, he said.
West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) for January delivery lost 17 cents to $56.84 a barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange as of 7:04 a.m. London time. The December contract, which
expired Wednesday, added $1.90 to close at $57.11.
Brent for January
settlement fell 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $62.22 on the London-based ICE
Futures Europe Exchange. The contract climbed $1.49 to $62.40 on Wednesday. The
global benchmark crude traded at a $5.39 premium to the WTI. Bloomberg News
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