Oil Rises as Middle East Tension Drowns Out Trump Trade Threats - Bloomberg

Oil Rises as Middle East Tension Drowns Out Trump Trade Threats - Bloomberg:

Oil recovered from early declines after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to escalate his trade war with China but also dispatched warships to the Middle East in a warning to Iran.

Futures in New York climbed 0.5 percent as Trump’s national security adviser announced an aircraft carrier strike group and bomber force were on their way to the Middle East. That erased a steep plunge earlier in the session after the president’s tweets suggested U.S.-China trade talks were in jeopardy, stoking fears about the global economy.

U.S. crude has retreated around 6 percent since hitting a six-month high in late April amid signs global markets may not be as tight as feared. While the possibility that the world’s two largest economies won’t reach a trade truce undermined prices, the decision to dispatch forces to the heart of global crude production posed a new risk to supplies, after Trump tightened sanctions on Iran last week.

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery added 31 cents to $62.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as trading closed. Brent for July settlement climbed 39 cents to $71.24 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.