Crude oil futures end lower amid uncertainty about US-China trade negotiations

Crude oil futures ended lower on Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to slowing global economy and uncertainty about US-China trade negotiations.

President Donald Trump said negotiations between China and the US toward a partial trade deal, referred to as phase one, were going very nicely but he said that recent reports about an agreement to eliminate tariffs in stages were not accurate and emphasized that he believes Beijing needs a deal more than Washington.

The comments made over the weekend as he prepared to head to a trip to Alabama, raised some doubts that a trade resolution was imminent.

Benchmark crude oil futures for December dropped 38 cents or 0.7 percent to settle at $56.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January Brent fell 33 cents or 0.5 percent to settle at $62.18 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

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