UPDATE 8-Oil prices mixed ahead of U.S. crude stock data

* Prices mixed after big gains last week
* U.S. imposes sanctions on Iranian leadership
* U.S. crude inventory data due later on Wednesday
* Interactive graphic on oil sanctions: https://tmsnrt.rs/2FA66mz

(Updates prices)
By Collin Eaton
HOUSTON, June 25 (Reuters) - Oil prices were mixed on
Tuesday ahead of data expected to show U.S. crude stocks
declining, outweighing investors' concerns that U.S.-China trade
tensions could dampen fuel demand.
Benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled up 19 cents,
or 0.3%, at $65.05 a barrel.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 fell 7 cents, or about 0.1%, at
$57.83 a barrel.
Investors shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump's
comments on Tuesday that the United States would obliterate
parts of Iran if it attacked "anything American." Oil-market jitters over the escalating tension between the
United States and Iran have eased after Trump targeted Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials
with sanctions on Monday, after calling off a retaliatory air
strike, analysts said.
Sending a bullish signal, a preliminary Reuters poll showed
on Monday that U.S. crude oil inventories likely fell for a
second consecutive week last week. The numbers came ahead of crude stock data from the American
Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, at 4:30 p.m. EDT
(2030 GMT) on Tuesday, and the Energy Information Administration
(EIA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, due on
Wednesday.
But concerns over U.S.-China trade tensions and global
growth still were pressuring prices, analysts said.
"You're going to see oil have trouble picking a direction
over the next couple days," said Josh Graves, senior market
strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago. "There's a tug-of-war
between bullish and bearish factors."
Weighing on prices, hopes for progress in the trade war
between China and the United States during this week's G20
meeting were dampened by a senior U.S. official saying Trump was
"comfortable with any outcome" from the talks. "The U.S.-China meeting on the side of G20 could signal
further rapprochement on trade, but the market needs something
it can sink it's teeth into," said Gene McGillian, vice
president of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford,
Connecticut.
"We've been going back and forth on U.S.-China trade
disputes for over a year now," McGillian added.
Demand concerns were briefly overcome last week when Brent
climbed 5% and U.S. crude surged almost 10%, its strongest week
since 2016, after Iran shot down a U.S. drone, adding to
tensions stoked by previous attacks on oil tankers in the area.
Washington has blamed the tanker attacks on Iran, which
denies any role.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and
its allies including Russia appear likely to extend a deal on
curbing output when they meet on July 1-2.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said international
cooperation on crude production had helped stabilize oil markets
and was more important than ever. He also voiced concerns about
demand. The chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the state oil firm of
OPEC's de facto leader, said its spare capacity of 12 million
barrels per day (bpd) was sufficient and that it would meet its
customers' needs. U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have cut oil exports
from the two OPEC members, but U.S. production has been
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TECHNICALS-U.S. oil may retest resistance at $58.19
oil may retest resistance at $66.43
under santions https://tmsnrt.rs/2FogeOV
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