TOKYO: Oil fell on Tuesday amid worries over the outlook for demand after the latest signs that international trade disputes have been dragging on the global economy, although the potential for conflicts in the Middle East offered support to prices.
Oil prices are being pressured by ongoing worries about demand as the U.S.-China trade war, heading into its second year, dampens prospects for global economic growth, which strongly impacts oil demand growth. The countries are the world's two largest oil consumers. Japanese government figures on Tuesday also showed that real wages in the country fell for a fifth straight month. The country is the fourth-largest crude user in the world."The weaker global economic outlook is keeping oil prices under downward pressure, but tensions in the Middle East are enhancing awareness to possible supply risk and should keep a floor under oil in the medium term," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at Vanguard Markets in Bangkok.