Oil Edges Higher as Markets Watch US-China Summit

Oil prices edged up on Thursday, with markets focusing on the high-stakes meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to see if it will yield any positive results towards a resolution for the Iran war.

Trump is expected to encourage China to convince Tehran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict, but analysts doubt that Xi will be willing to push China's long-time strategic partner too hard.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 45 cents, or 0.43%, to $106.08 a barrel by 0714 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures added 41 cents, or 0.41%, to $101.43.

Both benchmark oil futures contracts fell on Wednesday as investors worried about possible U.S. interest rate hikes as higher fuel prices spur inflationary pressures. Brent crude futures lost more than $2 a barrel, while WTI futures dropped more than $1.

Xi told Trump that trade talks were making progress at the start of the two-day summit on Thursday, but warned that disagreement over Taiwan could send relations down a dangerous path.

The Chinese leader's remarks, reported by Xinhua news agency, set the stage for what Trump has described as possibly the "biggest summit ever" following a