UPDATE 10-Oil prices fall with Wall St on trade war, give back early gains

* China defies Trump with new round of tariffs on U.S. goods
* Saudi Arabia says its oil tankers among those hit off UAE
coast
* Iran insists on ramping up oil sales to stay in nuclear
pact

(Updates with settlement prices, adds commentary, market
activity)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Oil futures fell on Monday with
Wall Street, as the negative turn in the U.S.-Chinese trade
talks spooked investors, who had sent oil higher in early trade
on concerns about reports of sabotage attacks on tankers in the
Middle East that could disrupt supplies.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures for July delivery fell 39 cents
to settle at $70.23 a barrel. The global benchmark earlier hit a
session high of $72.58 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell
62 cents to settle at $61.04 a barrel, after previously hitting
$63.33 a barrel.
Oil was pressured by a slump in stocks and other risk assets
as investors moved into safe havens like Treasury bonds in
response to the intensifying U.S.-China trade war. .N
China defied a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump and
moved to impose higher tariffs on a range of U.S. goods
including frozen vegetables and liquefied natural gas.
The action was widely expected after Washington
last week raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports.
Investors fear the trade war between the world's two largest
economies could escalate further and derail the global economy.
"The significant sell-off in the equity market has dragged
crude oil down with it," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow
Oil Associates in Houston. "However, crude oil would have been
far lower had it not been for the sabotage impacting tankers in
the Middle East."
Oil prices earlier had risen more than $1 a barrel after
Saudi Arabia said two Saudi oil tankers were among vessels
attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. It was
unclear how the attacks occurred. On Sunday, the UAE said four commercial vessels were
attacked near Fujairah, one of the world's largest bunkering
hubs. The port lies near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil
export waterway. Iran's foreign ministry described the incidents as
"worrisome and dreadful" and called for an investigation.
The U.S. Energy Department said on Monday, after the
sabotage of the four vessels, it is confident that global oil
markets are well supplied. Saudi Arabia is the largest producer in the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the UAE is third.
The U.S. Maritime Administration said in an advisory on
Sunday that the incidents off Fujairah, one of seven emirates in
the UAE, had not been confirmed and urged caution.
Oil prices have risen around 30 percent this year, supported
by supply concerns as the United States imposed sanctions on
Iran and Venezuela.
Washington reimposed oil sanctions on Iran in November after
pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and world
powers. Iran insists on exporting at least 1.5 million barrels
per day (bpd) of oil, triple May's expected levels under U.S.
sanctions, as a condition for staying in an international
nuclear deal, sources with knowledge of Iran-EU talks said.
Meanwhile, U.S. oil output from seven major shale formations
is expected to rise by about 83,000 barrels per day in June to a
fresh peak of about 8.49 million bpd, the U.S. Energy
Information Administration said in its monthly drilling
productivity report on Monday. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
TECHNICALS: Brent oil neutral in $70.04-$71.18 range
U.S. rig count https://tmsnrt.rs/2X8Myf7
TECHNICALS-U.S. oil neutral in $60.88-$62.49 range
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>