Oil prices steady after Navarro walks back from market-jolting comments - Reuters

Oil prices steady after Navarro walks back from market-jolting comments - Reuters:

Oil prices steadied on Tuesday after a volatile session sparked by confusion over the status of the U.S.-China trade deal.

Markets were spooked by surprise comments from White House trade adviser Peter Navarro saying the hard-won deal was “over”, though assurances from President Donald Trump later that the agreement was fully intact soothed jangled nerves.

Brent crude fell 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $42.98 a barrel by 0649 GMT, after earlier skidding to a session low of $42.21. U.S. oil was down 16 cents, or 0.4%, at $40.57 a barrel, having dropped to a low of $39.76.

U.S.-China relations have reached their lowest point in years since the coronavirus pandemic that began in China hit the United States hard. President Trump and his administration have repeatedly accused Beijing of not being transparent about the outbreak.