Oil futures reached four-month highs on Thursday, but later dipped after a report that a meeting between the US and Chinese presidents to resolve a trade dispute had been delayed.
The Bloomberg story, citing unnamed sources, curbed a price rally fueled by production curbs by OPEC and its partners along with US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela that have tightened global supplies this year. Brent crude hit a 2019 peak of $68.14 per barrel before falling to $67.47 by 1035 GMT, down 8 cents or 0.12 percent from Wednesday's close.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.11 per barrel, down 15 cents or 0.26 percent. Bloomberg reported that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may not meet until April at the earliest, after the Wall Street Journal said this month that Xi and Trump could meet around March 27.
---Reuters, London