Oil prices edge up, supported by Iran ship attack, U.S.-China trade detente

Monday,   14-Oct-2019   09:02 AM (IST)

Oil prices were little changed on Monday, holding onto 2% gains from Friday amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while a detente in the U.S.-China trade war buoyed market sentiment.  Brent crude futures (LCOc1) rose 9 cents to $60.60 a barrel by 1208 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures (CLc1) was at $54.79 a barrel, up 9 cents. Both contracts rose more than 3% last week, their first weekly gain in three weeks. Most of the gains were posted on Friday after an Iranian oil tanker was attacked off Saudi Arabia's coast in the Red Sea. Investigations are under way to determine if the tanker was hit by missiles, which could ratchet up tensions between Tehran and Riyadh if confirmed. The emergence of a phase 1 trade deal between the United States and China and a goodwill move by Washington to suspend threatened tariffs on Chinese products also lifted global financial markets. Investors remained cautious given that few details emerged from the talks, while it may take another five weeks for the two countries to sign a pact.