Crude Oil Settles Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - Crude oil futures ended higher on Monday amid optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal after presidents of the two countries praised progress in trade talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he had a "long and very good call" with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that a comprehensive trade deal between the United States and China is moving along very well.

Chinese state media also cited President Xi Jinping as saying that he believed both sides wanted "stable progress." These positive Comments from the presidents of both China and the U.S. have allayed fears about a prolonged trade war between two of the world's largest economies in the world.

However, lingering concerns about the global economy and data from the Energy Information Administration last week that showed a less than expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles limited crude's gains.

Crude oil futures for February delivery ended up $0.08, or 0.2%, at $45.41 a barrel. On Monday, crude oil futures ended ended up $0.72, or 1.6%, at $45.33 a barrel.

In December, crude oil futures shed about 9%. In the 12 months ending December 2018, crude oil futures lost 2.9%. Over a span of less than four months since hitting a four-year high, crude oil futures have shed about 40%.

The OPEC and non-OPEC members including Russia agreed earlier this month to reduce crude oil output from them by 1.2 million barrels from January 2019.