Oil prices are slightly lower: investors are watching Iran-US talks and Chinese economic data
19 May 08:10
Oil prices declined slightly on Monday, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Reuters. Investors are closely watching the outcome of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, as well as waiting for important economic data from China to assess the impact on demand for commodities after trade disputes with the United States.
According to OilPrice.com, futures for Brent crude oil fell 27 cents to $65.14 per barrel as of 07:14 Kyiv time, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $62.33 per barrel, down 16 cents. The June WTI contract with the nearest expiration date expires on Tuesday, while the more active July contract fell 4 cents to $61.93 per barrel.
Both contracts gained more than 1% last week after the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies and oil consumers, agreed to a 90-day pause in their trade war, during which both sides will significantly reduce trade tariffs.
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East
China is to release a series of data, including industrial production, later on Monday.
“Any signs of weakness could dampen sentiment, which has been boosted by the US pause on Chinese tariffs,”
– ANZ analysts said in a note.
Uncertainty over the outcome of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States also supported oil prices.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that any deal between the United States and Iran must include an agreement to abandon uranium enrichment, a comment that quickly drew criticism from Tehran.
“Realistically speaking, Iran is unlikely to ever voluntarily agree to peacefully abandon its nuclear ambitions, which it has always considered non-negotiable. Especially after the collapse of its proxies, which in the past acted as a buffer between it and Israel,”
– said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, without specifying who he was referring to.
The West
In Europe, tensions between Estonia and Russia increased after Moscow detained a Greek-owned oil tanker on Sunday after it left an Estonian port on the Baltic Sea.
In the US, producers cut the number of active oil rigs by 1 to 473 last week, the lowest since January, Baker Hughes said in its weekly report, as they continued to focus on cost-cutting, which could slow US oil production growth this year.
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