By Roslan Khasawneh
SINGAPORE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Oil prices held nearly flat
on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said a resolution
to the China-U.S. trade rift would come sooner than expected,
helping to stave off pressure from rising oil supplies and
worries about global growth.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were at $62.34 a barrel, down 5
cents, or 0.1%, from the previous close, by 0158 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were
up 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $56.55 a barrel.
President Trump said on Wednesday - a day after a stinging
rebuke to China for its trade practices - that Beijing wanted to
make a deal "very badly".
Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also signed a
limited trade deal that would open up Japanese markets to some
$7 billion worth of U.S. products annually.
"Signs of easing trade tension has overshadowed the bearish
raft of indicators that saw oil prices topple head over heels
this week," said Stephen Innes, Asia Pacific market strategist
at AxiTrader.
Both Brent and WTI on Wednesday hit their lowest marks since
the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities on Sept. 14, weighed
down by a surprise 2.4 million barrels build in U.S. crude
inventories last week and a faster than expected recovery of
Saudi production capacity. EIA/S
"With the supply risk premiums evaporating and the oil fear
factor but a distant memory, demand worries are back competing
for attention," said Innes.
A firmer dollar .DXY , which posted its sharpest daily gain
in three months overnight and held steady in Asian trade, also
weighed on oil prices as it makes dollar-traded fuel imports
more costly for countries using other currencies.