Oil down in a tugging market

London (awp / afp) – Oil prices fell on Thursday during European trading, torn between geopolitical risk and worries about global growth.

Around 9:40 GMT (11:40 CET), Brent North Sea crude oil for December delivery was worth 57.94 dollars in London, down 0.65 percent from Wednesday's close.

In New York, the US barrel of WTI for November lost 0.49% to 52.33 dollars.

In recent times, "the oil market is neither bull nor bearish.There is no trend," commented Tamas Varga, analyst for PVM.

According to him, the geopolitical situation "potentially favorable to the price", with the Turkish intervention in Syria and the demonstrations in Ecuador that led to a 70% interruption of the country's production, "is counterbalanced by economic concerns and the good health of US production and non-OPEC countries ".

On Wednesday, the United States once again reported a record production and an increase in stocks.

But "it should be noted that the weekly supply data have hardly moved prices," said Jasper Lawler, an analyst for London Capital Group.

"At the moment, it is only about trade negotiations and their impact on global growth and demand for oil," he added.

While negotiations must resume later in the day in Washington, the tone between the two countries has risen in recent days; the United States has in particular announced sanctions against Chinese entities and officials suspected of participating in the "crackdown" against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

But press reports have also reported more conciliatory remarks, with China remaining open to a partial agreement even though Donald Trump has stated his preference for a broad agreement.

ktr / ved / jul