DTN Oil Update

Karim Bastati
DTN Analyst

VIENNA (DTN) -- Oil futures steadied Friday morning after rebounding Thursday on signs of resuming Sino-American trade talks. Thursday's phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was the first direct contact between the two leaders since President Trump took office.

NYMEX-traded WTI for July delivery was down $0.02 bbl to trade near $63.35 bbl, and ICE Brent for August delivery rose $0.01 bbl to $65.35 bbl.

July RBOB gasoline futures fell $0.0043 to $2.0586 gallon, while the front-month ULSD futures contract shed $0.0087 to trade near $2.0858 gallon.

The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.281 points to 98.985.

Following their call, President Trump announced that U.S. and Chinese delegates will be "meeting shortly." He described the 90-minute call, which was mostly focused on trade, as resulting in a "very positive conclusion for both countries."

Friday's macroeconomic data releases out of Europe were a mixed bag for demand growth prospects. First quarter Eurozone GDP growth was revised higher to 0.6% quarter-on-quarter, and retail sales beat expectations of a 1.5% increase, up 2.3% year-on-year. Industrial production, meanwhile, contracted at a faster rate than anticipated. German industrial production in April recorded a 2% year-on-year decline, and exports shrank by 1.7% from March. French industrial production surprisingly contracted by 1.4% month-on-month in April, compared to expectations of little to no change.