Oil steady as China's plans to boost U.S. imports counters tensions - Reuters

Oil steady as China's plans to boost U.S. imports counters tensions - Reuters:

Oil prices steadied on Monday as news that China planned to ship large volumes of U.S. crude in August and September countered rising tensions between the two countries and a delay in the review of their trade pact over the weekend.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $44.77 a barrel by 0858 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was up 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $42.04 a barrel.

The United States and China delayed a review of their Phase 1 trade deal initially slated for Saturday, citing scheduling conflicts.

However, in a positive signal, Chinese state-owned oil firms have tentatively booked tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September.