Oil falls due to caution over first phase of US-China trade deal

LONDON: Oil prices fell on Monday as scant details about the first phase of a trade deal between the United States and China undercut optimism over a US-Sino thaw that had helped lift crude markets by 2 per cent at the end of last week.

Brent crude fell 46 cents to $60.05 a barrel by 0840 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 40 cents at $54.30 a barrel. Both were down 0.7 per cent.

Late on Friday, the United States and China outlined the first stage of a trade deal and suspended this week’s scheduled US tariff hikes. But existing tariffs remain in place and officials on both sides said much more work was needed before an accord could be agreed.