Oil prices drop as trade tensions stoke economy worries

TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) - 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 tensions in the Middle East offered some
support to prices.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were down 21 cents, or 0.3%, at
$63.90 a barrel by 0022 GMT. They fell 12 cents on Monday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures were down
20 cents, or 0.4%, at $57.46 a barrel. They rose 15 cents in the
previous session.
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.
Japan's core machinery orders fell by the most in eight
months, data showed on Monday, in a sign the global trade
tensions are taking a toll on corporate investment. Japanese government figures on Tuesday also showed that real
wages in the country fell for a fifth straight month.
"The prolonged trade war ... does not seem to be nearing a
resolution, and it will keep being a negative factor for crude
prices as it impacts global growth forecasts," said Alfonso
Esparza, senior market analyst at OANDA in Toronto.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs said growth in U.S. shale
production was likely to outpace that of global demand at least
through 2020, limiting gains in oil prices despite output curbs
led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Prices are still susceptible to shocks from the lingering
tensions in the Middle East, analyst and traders said.
Iran on Monday threatened to restart deactivated centrifuges
and step up its enrichment of uranium to 20% in a move that
further threatens the 2015 nuclear agreement that Washington
abandoned last year. Washington has imposed sanctions that eliminate benefits
Iran was meant to receive in return for agreeing to curbs on its
nuclear programme under the 2015 deal with world powers.
The confrontation has brought the United States and Iran
close to conflict, with U.S. President Donald Trump calling off
air strikes last month minutes before impact.