Oil declines as investors weigh Hormuz tensions with trade talks
Oil traded near $56 a barrel as the U.K. deployed a warship to the Strait of Hormuz to help escort commercial ships, while U.S.-China trade talks are set to resume amid tempered expectations for a breakthrough.
Futures eased slightly in New York after rising 1% last week. The U.K. has sent one of its Type 45 warships to the region after Iran seized a British oil tanker, heightening tensions in one of the world’s major energy chokepoints. Chinese and American negotiators meet in Shanghai this week with neither showing an urge to compromise in their dispute that has dented demand.
Oil is heading for its second monthly loss this year as a gloomy economic outlook eclipses concerns crude flows may be disrupted from the Middle East.
