Oil Falls Due to Caution Over First Phase of US-China Trade Deal

Oil prices fell 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% at the end of last week.
Brent crude fell 46 cents to $60.05 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude lost 40 cents at $54.30 a barrel. Both were down 0.7%, Reuters reported.
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.
Brent and WTI rose more than 3% last week, their first weekly increase in three.
A good portion of their gains came after the United States announced Friday it was deploying more troops to Saudi Arabia, and after an Iranian oil tanker was attacked in the Red Sea.
There are also worries that further escalation along the Syrian and Turkish border could affect output or exports from Iraq, providing more support for oil prices. Syrian troops entered a northeastern town on Monday.