NEW DELHI: Oil edged higher as investors weighed an escalating U.S.-China trade war that’s jeopardizing the demand outlook against the risk that geopolitical tension in the Middle East will disrupt crude flows.
Futures in New York rose as much as 0.4% after closing down 1% on Monday. The U.S. released a list of about $300 billion of Chinese goods that it’s threatened to hit with a 25% tariff after Beijing announced retaliatory levies on about $60 billion of U.S. imports. Another oil tanker was damaged while anchored in the United Arab Emirates, following a spate of attacks on crude carriers on Sunday, adding to an already tense situation in the Persian Gulf.
Volatility in oil prices has jumped this month as crude is buffeted by the specter of a full-blown trade war on the demand side, while a combustible Middle East and production disruptions from Norway to Nigeria throw the supply outlook into doubt.
