WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures settled notably lower on Friday, with traders trimming down some positions as they looked ahead to the meeting of the U.S. and Chinese Presidents, and the decision of the OPEC and its allies on production levels.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended down $0.96, or 1.6%, at $58.47 a barrel.
On Thursday, WTI crude oil futures ended up $0.05, at $59.43 a barrel, after having climbed up 2.7% a session earlier.
WTI oil futures gained 1.8% in the week, and more than 9% in June.
The U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday. There is some optimism that the meeting will help reignite trade talks between the two countries.
It is hoped that Trump and Xi will reach some sort of agreement that would avoid the imposition of additional tariffs on each other's products.
The recent rally in oil prices was due to a much larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week and an escalation in geopolitical tensions following the downing of a U.S. drone by Iran's Islamist Revolutionary Guard Corps and the subsequent tougher sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Tehran.
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