Oil prices drifted on Monday with no affirmation or denial on whether the phase one of the U.S.-China deal was coming soon as President Donald Trump insisted at the end of last week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was a penny lower at $57.76 per barrel by 1:00 PM ET (18:00 GMT), after tumbling 1.4% on Friday.
U.K. Brent, the global benchmark for crude, was off 7 cents at $63.30, after the previous session’s 1% slide.
“The noise in here is significant with the Chinese trade deal,” said Scott Shelton, energy broker at ICAP (LON:NXGN) in Durham, N.C.
Sheltom said his gut told him that oil could be headed higher “as physical is strong and positioning is not overly heavy on the long side”.
Yet, he concedes that “we are on the highs and I could see quick and painful moves back towards the middle of the range, and I don’t see $58 (WTI) … which makes this a bad risk reward trade to be long.”
The trade war is closing in on its 17th month with the domestic politics of both countries often shaping the narrative rather actual trade benefits.
Trump said on Friday was that a phase one deal was “very close”, even as he continued to wag the additional-tariffs-by-December-15 stick at China. The president stressed that Beijing was desperate for a deal and he wasn’t.
He also said that he had practically “saved” Hong Kong from annihilation by holding the trade talks as an ace against China, so that Beijing did not send in the military against Hong Kong rioters opposed its rule.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, on his part, pointed out that China will not be dictated by colonial powers and will fight back if necessary.
