Oil futures were slightly bearish Friday as the market was stuck in a tug-of-war between geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and concerns of slowing global demand stemming from the ongoing China-US trade war. NYMEX June crude settled 11 cents lower at $62.76/b, while July ICE Brent settled 41 cents lower at $72.21/b. In refined products, NYMEX June ULSD settled 2.77 cents lower at $2.0955/gal, while NYMEX June RBOB settled 1.45 cents lower at $2.0473/gal. News that Chinese officials suggested that a trade deal with the US was still a ways off was a bearish consideration for oil markets. Equities were lower in Asian trade as a result of those comments but made modest gains during US trading hours. So far, the cost of higher US and Chinese tariffs “has been absorbed by a […]