UPDATE 9-Oil rises after falling on Trump comments on U.S.-China trade

* Trump says has not agreed to roll back tariffs on China
* Brent, WTI set weekly gains
* China crude imports hit record; gas imports in 1st fall in
3 yrs
* U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for third week in a row -Baker
Hughes

(Adds CFTC data in paragraph 16)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on
Friday, after falling more than 1% following comments from U.S.
President Donald Trump that he has not agreed to roll back
tariffs on China.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 22 cents to settle at
$62.51 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose
9 cents to settle at $57.24 a barrel.
Brent posted a weekly rise of 1.3%, while WTI gained 1.9%.
Prices pared losses in midday trade, after Brent reached a
session low of $60.66 a barrel and WTI sank to $55.76 a barrel.
"Given the volatility around the U.S.-China trade saga, it's
hard to be short over the weekend," said John Kilduff, a partner
at Again Capital LLC. "The turn of a phrase could restore the
very hopes that were dashed just last night over a deal being
struck."
The 16-month trade war between the world's two biggest
economies has slowed economic growth around the world and
prompted analysts to lower forecasts for oil demand, raising
concerns that a supply glut could develop in 2020.
Oil prices fell earlier on Friday after Trump told reporters
he has not agreed to roll back tariffs on China but that Beijing
would like him to do so. The comments come after officials from both countries on
Thursday said China and the United States have agreed to roll
back tariffs on each others' goods in a "phase one" trade deal
if it is completed.
However, the plan faces stiff internal opposition in the
U.S. administration, Reuters reported on Thursday, and U.S.
officials have signaled opposing views on the status of talks.

Oil prices have also been under pressure since OPEC
Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said this week that he was
more optimistic about the outlook for 2020, appearing to
downplay any need to cut output more deeply. A deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and its allies, such as Russia, will limit supplies
until March next year. The producers meet Dec. 5-6 in Vienna to
review that policy.
"Even if a partial (U.S.-China) agreement is reached, the
impetus for demand will not be enough to avoid an oversupply
next year, meaning that OPEC will still need to make bigger
production cuts," Commerzbank said in a note.
While customs data showed that China's crude oil imports in
October rose 11.5% from a year earlier to a record high, bearish
signals elsewhere tempered the news. U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose sharply last week as
refineries cut output and exports dropped, the Energy
Information Administration said on Wednesday. EIA/S
U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs
operating for a third week in a row. Drillers cut seven rigs in
the week to Nov. 8, bringing the total count down to 684, the
lowest since April 2017, General Electric Co's GE.N Baker
Hughes energy services firm said. RIG-OL-USA-BHI Money managers boosted their net long U.S. crude futures and
options positions in the week to Nov. 5 by 22,512 contracts to
138,389, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
said. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
CHART: Brent oil may retest support at $61.77 per barrel
U.S. petroleum inventories https://tmsnrt.rs/2XlX17b
CHART: U.S. oil may drop to $56.33 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>