Oil prices flat as the dust settles over global trade disputes

June 4 (UPI) -- Near-global concerns about U.S. trade policies and growth in crude oil production from leading suppliers helped push crude oil prices lower on Monday.

Global finance ministers offered a stern rebuke to the U.S. government at a meeting of the G7 during the weekend in Canada. While saying the global economy is strong and expansion is on pace to continue, the decision last week to impose aluminum and steel tariffs could undermine growth.

"Concerns were expressed that the tariffs imposed by the United States on its friends and allies, on the grounds of national security, undermine open trade and confidence in the global economy," a joint statement read.

The impact could be damaging to the economy and crimp demand as a result. The price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, lost nearly 2 percent when the Chinese government in April introduced a list of U.S. products worth $50 billion in imports that would be the subject of stiff tariffs. The Chinese Ministry of Finance said the decision was a tit-for-tat response to trade actions taken by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, a weekend meeting of a committee monitoring the effort from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pledged to keep the market supplied against current and potential deficits. That followed a May call from Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak to put more oil on the market in the second half of the year.

"That along with trade war uncertainty kept pressure on oil as traders feared the possibility of weakening demand at a time of rising U.S. production," Phil Flynn, the senior market analyst for the PRICE Futures Group in Chicago, said in a daily emailed newsletter.

Oil prices were sharply lower in overnight trading, but pulled back to mixed ahead of the opening bell in New York. The price for Brent was down 0.38 percent as of 9:15 a.m. EDT to $76.50 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was up 0.08 percent to $65.86 per barrel.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported last week that total U.S. oil production hit a record at 10.47 million barrels per day. Traders and other watchers will be paying close attention this week to who's at the podium at this week's annual EIA conference in Washington.

On U.S.-Chinese trade relations, a weekend meeting between Chinese officials and representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce concluded with no clear agreements to stave off market conflicts between the world's leading economies.

"To implement the consensus reached in Washington, the two sides have had good communication in various areas such as agriculture and energy, and have made positive and concrete progress while relevant details are yet to be confirmed by both sides," the statement from Beijing read.