London — Oil slipped towards $77 a barrel on Friday, under pressure from higher Saudi production and trade tensions between the US and China, although oil supply disruptions lent support. Top exporter Saudi Arabia told oil cartel Opec it raised oil output by almost 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) last month, Opec sources said, a sign Riyadh wants to make up for shortages elsewhere and dampen prices. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 19cs at $77.20 a barrel by 9.10am GMT. US crude slipped 2c to $72.92. "On the bearish side both Saudi Arabia and Russia are living up to their promise to increase output," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. "Looming US sanctions on Iran, however, are causing serious concerns among market players."
US tariffs on $34bn in Chinese imports took effect as a deadline passed on Friday and Beijing has vowed to respond immediately in kind, setting the world’s two biggest economies on a path towards a full-blown trade conflict. "The oil market is in...
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