Brent falls below $60 on uncertainty over US-China trade deal

Brent prices fell as the US market opened today to below $60 a barrel, to head for the first loss in the last 4 days, due uncertainty about the details of the interim trade deal between the US and China, after Beijing stressed the need for further talks before signing the agreement, in addition to the release of Chinese data that showed further contraction in exports and imports, which also weighed down on prices.

Brent fell to $58.94 a barrel, from the opening of $60.40, with a high of $60.70.

Brent futures gained 1.9% on Friday, the third straight daily gain, after an Iranian oil tanker was attacked in the Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

The US and China announced on Friday that they had agreed on a partial trade deal, with the Phase one of the deal including Washington delay of the tariffs increase decision which was set by this week, after the high-level trade talks round that took 2 days.

Whilst the previous and current tariffs between the two countries are still in effect, without revealing any further details on the interim agreement.

President Trump stated the US and China are very close to ending the trade war and the deal will be signed over the next 3 or 4 weeks, and stressed the need to start discussing other issues.

China on the other hand stated today that it wants further negotiations before signing the partial 

Otherwise, Chinese data showed today that exports and imports contracted in September, in the latest sign of further weakness in Chinese economy.

The Chinese Customs spokesman attributed the slowdown to the escalation in the trade war with the US, after data showed that Chinese exports to the US fell 10.7% from last year's January-September reading, while U.S. imports fell by 26.4%.