Crude slid as a trade spat between the US and China overshadowed concerns over global supply disruptions.
Futures in New York fell as much as 1.8%. Just as the US and China prepare for talks in Washington, President Donald Trump said that China’s leaders “broke the deal” he was negotiating with them on trade. Beijing has warned it will retaliate if he follows through on a plan to raise tariffs. Meanwhile, Iran’s oil shipments tumbled this month with not a single ship seen leaving the nation’s oil terminals for foreign ports.
“The fears over the fallout from the US-China trade war is impacting everything,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York hedge fund focused on energy. “It’s just so damaging to the Asian economies in particular and it goes to the heart of the demand side of the equation in oil.”
