Oil Price - June 28

[dan_s]

WTI is trading in a tight range (for now), with traders waiting for comments from Trump and Xi Pinging after the meet at the G20 Summit in Japan. IMO the meeting is likely to be a non-event unless we see a photo of them shaking hands and saying they have reached an agreement. Until there is a signed agreement there is really nothing resolved, but hope spring eternal.

https://www.investing.com/commodities/crude-oil

"This weekend will be key for the future direction of global oil demand as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit at 11:30 AM (2:30 GMT) local time in Osaka, Japan on Saturday, according to Reuters. That's 10:30 PM ET on Friday. The trade dispute between the two countries has been primarily responsible for slowing the world economy this year, according to the International Monetary Fund and others. Although markets see little chance that the two world leaders will come to an agreement, hopes are for a truce that would postpone further tariffs and allow negotiations to resume."

IMO this is more important to the oil market:
LONDON (Reuters) - The United States will sanction any country that imports Iranian oil and there are no exemptions in place, the U.S. special envoy for Iran said on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials with sanctions on Monday, taking an unprecedented step to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran’s downing of an unmanned American drone last week.

"We will sanction any imports of Iranian crude oil," Brian Hook said when asked about the sale of Iranian crude to Asia, adding that the United States would take a look at reports of Iranian crude going to China.

"There are right now no oil waivers in place," Hook told reporters in London. "We will sanction any illicit purchases of Iranian crude oil."

Tehran has been selling increased volumes of petrochemical products at below market rates in countries including Brazil, China and India since the United States reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports in November, Reuters reported this month.

"Iran does have a history of using front companies to evade sanctions and enrich the regime and fund its foreign adventurism," Hook said, adding that Iran routinely violates maritime law to hide its oil exports.

Last year, Trump pulled the United States out of the multinational deal under which sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Washington has since re-imposed tough sanctions on Iran, aiming to cut the Islamic Republic’s oil sales to zero to force it to negotiate a broader deal that would also cover its ballistic missile capabilities and regional influence.

Iran wants to sell its oil at the same levels that it did before Washington withdrew from the accord.

"Iran has just rejected diplomacy too many times," Hook said. "They have got to stop this sectarian agenda of creating a Shia corridor of power to dominate the Middle East."

"This is a clerical regime that wants to remake the Middle East in its image - and that would deeply destabilise the Middle East to have regimes following the same Marxist theocratic regime," he added.