Petroleum prices stabilized Thursday after more than one dollar fell in the previous session, since the uncertainty about the result of commercial negotiations between the United States and China, the two largest oil consumers in the world, weighed on the confidence of investors.
The Brent crude futures remained unchanged at $ 61.12 a barrel, while the crude West Texas intermediate from the United States. UU. Up 6 cents rose, or 0.1 %, up to $ 58.12 a barrel at 00:58 gmt. Both contracts fell 1.7 % on Wednesday, since investors doubted that the next trade negotiations gave rise to an advance.
The secretary of the US Treasury. UU., Scott Besent, will meet with China’s most economic head on May 10 in Switzerland to negotiate the commercial war that is disturbing the world economy. Both countries are the two largest economies in the world and it is likely that the disturbances derived from their commercial dispute reduce the growth of crude oil consumption.
-The president of the United States, Donald Trump, suggested on Wednesday that China initiated trade negotiations and added that he was not willing to reduce US tariffs about Chinese products for Beijing to accept negotiating. Besent said that the next conversations are a beginning, not “advanced.”
To the concerns about the weakness of the demand, the increase in gasoline reserves in the United States is added last week, which has fueled the fears of analysts that consumption is not recovering now that the United States enters the period of greater summer demand at the end of this month.
At the same time, the organization of oil exporting countries and its allies, known as OPEP+, will increase its oil production, which will increase the pressure on prices. (Information by Katya Golubkova in Tokyo; Christian Schmollinger edition)
