Oil prices cling to most gains, all eyes on US-China trade-talk outcome

Oil prices held on to most gains from the previous session in Asian trading on Thursday as investors awaited the outcome of US-China trade talks, hoping for signs that tensions clouding the outlook for world economic growth will ease. Brent crude futures, which had risen 52 cents on Wednesday, fell 4 cents or 0.06% to $64.88 a barrel by 0402 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped by 9 cents or 0.15% to $60.39 after climbing 33 cents a day earlier. US President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping met at a South Korean air base in Busan for nearly two hours. The outcome of those discussions was not immediately clear. “Any progress towards a trade agreement could bolster market confidence and stimulate global energy demand, providing some upside to oil,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm.