Oil prices fall more than 1 per cent on uncertainty over US-China trade talks

Oil prices fell more than 1 per cent, erasing much of last week’s gains and tumbling alongside US stocks on uncertainty over a trade deal between the United States (US) and China.

Brent crude futures settled at $62.44 a barrel, down 86 cents, or 1.4 per cent. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended 67 cents, or 1.2 per cent, lower at $57.05 a barrel. Both benchmarks posted their second straight weekly gain last week, with Brent rising 1.3 per cent and WTI up 0.8 per cent.

Wall Street’s three main stock indexes also fell from last week’s record highs following a report that stoked concerns a US-China trade deal might not get through, which pushed oil prices lower, analysts said.