Tokyo/Sydney— Oil prices were moving higher on Tuesday, though gains were checked amid an escalation in the trade war between the US and China. Brent crude futures were at $70.30 a barrel at 0318 GMT, up 7c, or 0.1%, from their last close. Brent ended the previous session down 0.6%. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.11 per barrel, up 7c, or 0.1%, from their previous settlement. WTI closed down 1% on Monday. Headlines from the Middle East grabbed attention early in the session after Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers were among those attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, describing it as an attempt to undermine security of supply amid US-Iran tensions. But analysts said the US-China trade war continued to cast a pall on the market as a whole. “This ramp-up in trade tensions, which I don’t really think people saw coming, is going to have an impact, a broad impact,” Phin Ziebell, senior economist at National Australia Bank said by phone. “...
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