Oil Dips Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting as Mideast Tensions Simmer

President Donald Trump says inflation in the US is only “short term.” He spoke before leaving for Beijing on Tuesday.Source: Bloomberg

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By Jack Wittels, Alex Longley, and Mia Gindis

May 12, 2026 at 10:03 PM UTC

Updated on

May 13, 2026 at 7:22 PM UTC

Oil slipped in volatile trading as traders awaited a pivotal meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, while fresh US data suggested stockpile have yet to drop to critical levels.

West Texas Intermediate fell 1.1% to settle at $101.02 a barrel, snapping a three-session winning streak. Trump downplayed the amount of attention the Iran conflict would get during his summit Thursday with Xi saying he would prioritize trade negotiations and that “we have Iran very much under control.” China buys most of the Islamic Republic’s oil exports.